ISLAMABAD: The government will be replacing Capital Development Authority (CDA) member engineering Sanaullah Aman with an officer from Lahore to work on Metro Bus track in Islamabad continues smoothly.

Mr Aman, who was posted as member engineering in 2012, had also been holding the additional charge of member environment since January 2014.

Sources in the civic body said the Cabinet Division had sent the summary for his transfer from the CDA to the prime minister.

Though CDA spokesman Asim Khichi acknowledged that there were reports in this regard, he termed the move a routine matter related to transfer and posting.

Other officials are of the view that two officers from the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) would be posted in the CDA.

The planning, engineering and environment wings are engaged in smooth execution of work on the Metro Bus route.

It may be mentioned here that the member planning is already from the LDA.

“Concerns about environment are taken seriously in Islamabad and there are chances that decisions regarding the relocation or cutting of trees would be taken,” said an official in the engineering wing.

The second most serious issue related with the mega project in Islamabad is the role of the planning department in shifting utility services.

All services are relocated after proper planning and mapping and usually this work is done after thorough deliberations which is a time consuming work.

“The support of member engineering can be required any time during the construction phase of the route,” the official added.

Though the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) is carrying out work on the Islamabad route of the Metro Bus, important decisions are to be taken by the CDA as the work progress.

The Rs42 billion Metro Bus Service will be operated from Flashman’s Hotel in Saddar, Rawalpindi to the Pak-Secretariat in Islamabad.

The cost of the project is being shared by the federal and the Punjab governments.

However, the Prime Minister Secretariat’s decision to make the RDA the executing agency of the project even in Islamabad has not been welcomed in the CDA.

“We have been told about some mistrust in the Punjab bureaucracy that the CDA would not cooperate with the RDA to ensure completion of the project by January 2015,” said a CDA official.

He added that the advantage of having officers from the LDA was that they can take the risk of taking a difficult decision during the construction work.

“They will go back to their parent department after one year, but any CDA employee is always extra cautious due to the fear of court cases and even hearings in parliamentary committees,” he added.