ISLAMABAD: After failing to remove the illegal katchi abadi from Sector I-11/1, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided to accommodate the plot owners in other sub-sectors of I-11.

There are some 300 plots at the 1-11/1 sector that have been occupied by the dwellers of Afghan Basti. And despite several attempts, the CDA failed to remove the encroachers.

Currently, the owners, who were allotted plots in 1989-90, have started approaching the CDA to get their plots at I-11/1 shifted to I-11/2, I-11/3 or I-11/4.

“It is our responsibility to accommodate the plot owners, so we are transferring their plots to other sub–sectors of I-11 as additional plots have become available there,” said Nadeem Abro, the director general of the CDA estate management wing.

People allotted plots in 1-11/1 could not be given possession as land is occupied by encroachers

Though many plot owners have directly approached the CDA, property dealers have also entered the race and are purchasing files from the owners to get them transferred with the help of their contacts in the civic agency.

“Plot owners have become desperate as no development work has been initiated at the site even after 25 years, and we are helping them in the process,” said a property dealer, who has his office at I-10 Markaz.

“The average price of a plot in I-11/1 is less than Rs4 million. We buy a plot file for around Rs4 million and try to get it transferred to another sub-sector.”

He said the current rate for a plot in other sub-sectors was around Rs7 million to Rs8 million.

The process is also benefiting a large number of officials in the CDA. This is one of the reasons that many plot owners prefer to sell their files to property dealers or outsource the process to other middlemen.

“An amount of Rs1 million is required to get the file cleared from various offices in the CDA and get the plot transferred,” said another property dealer. “The rate is higher if the shifting is to be made at a corner plot.”

By agreeing to accommodate the plot owners, the CDA has acknowledged that it would not be able to remove the Afghan Basti from I-11/1.

The CDA had purchased land at I-11/1 from the locals in 1968 and paid them compensation for their built-up property in 1975. But after 1979, refugees from Afghanistan started settling in the area.

“None of the dwellers in I-11/3 katchi abadi are Afghans. They are Pakistanis and some are even professional land grabbers,” said Asia Gul, the director of the CDA enforcement wing.

The last serious move to remove the Afghan basti was made in March 2014. However, the plan was cancelled after the interior ministry directed the CDA not to launch an operation against the encroachers.

The then member estate, Shaista Sohail, was cautioned by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) not to initiate an operation against the slum dwellers in Islamabad as it might invite unwarranted troubles in the already volatile security situation.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2014