ISLAMABAD: Balloting for plots in Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) Park Enclave, scheduled to be held on January 12 appears to be facing delays with the errors appearing in the balloting software.

Earlier, the CDA announced that no residential plot would be auctioned and if applications outnumbered plots, the allotments would be made through balloting.

However, the civic body does not have a reliable balloting software and when a few days left for balloting, the CDA plans to acquire a new software from Nadra.

But it was facing hurdles in the process as the parliamentary body has raised objections over acquiring the software from Nadra.

The CDA received an overwhelming number of applications for the project as 1,916 brochures were sold and 1,245 forms were submitted for around 150 plots.

In a recent meeting chaired by the CDA chairman, Maroof Afzal, the civic body decided that the balloting software would be procured from Nadra.

“Nadra is well known internationally for software development and it will also ensure transparency in the balloting process,” Mr Afzal told Dawn.

The CDA urgently requires a dependable balloting software since it has decided not to auction residential plots.

It is believed that auction discourages genuine buyers and plots end up being sold to investors and property dealers.

Despite the exuberant price tag put on each plot, the response of buyers has even amazed the officials.

A 500 square yard plot costs Rs17.5 million and the price of a 1,000 square yard plot is Rs35 million.

The CDA has received 1,101 applications for 500 square yards plots, whereas 141 applications for 1,000 square yards plots.

There are 105 plots of 500 square yards and 61 plots of 1,000 square yards in Park Enclave.

Although no official admitted to malpractices, sources said the CDA chairman was apprised of alleged malpractices in the Information Technology (IT) department of the civic body.

“There are suspicions of manipulations or the software was faulty but in the last balloting of Park Enclave in 2012 a majority of plots went to influential people.

“National Accountability Bureau conducted an inquiry into the matter,” an official of the planning wing said.

“But negotiations with Nadra for a better software are likely to be delayed,” he added.

The chairman office on Saturday received a directive from the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat asking the CDA to get the software developed by its own IT department validated from the Pakistan Software Development Board.

Meanwhile, chairperson of the Senate Committee Senator Kulsoom Parveen, supporting the idea said that it would help the CDA save some money by developing a software.

The CDA is already facing severe criticism over delays in Park Enclave housing scheme, which the civic body described as ‘Jewel of Islamabad’ when it was launched in 2011.

The project was scheduled to be completed by December 2013 but the project faced delays mainly due to mismanagement in the CDA. However, the development of infrastructure in Park Enclave has already begun and is expected to be completed by end of 2015.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2015

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