ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman, Maroof Afzal, is in a hurry to cleanse the civic body of wrongdoers, but his order that all inquiries against officers so accused must conclude in 15 days met only disbelief in the CDA bureaucracy.

“Even the files relevant to years-old inquiries cannot be collected in 15 days - if they could at all be traced in the big and really seedy cases,” said a CDA official commenting anonymously on a weekend statement by Member Administration and Estate Amer Ali Ahmed which asked the inquiry officers to strictly stick to the deadline.

“I don’t recall any departmental inquiry into mega corruption ever completed during the last many decades,” said the official who spoke to Dawn on condition of anonymity.

However, Mr Ahmed’s statement has promised “stern action against the inquiry officers and departments using delaying tactics and not providing the required record.”

Those found guilty by the inquiry officers would be punished “as per law”. That would help “ensure transparency and good governance” in the CDA, according to the statement.

In the past too several former chairmen similarly tried to cleanse the CDA but without much success as the inquiries ran into dead-ends.

Old hands at the civic body believe that this time “some 80 inquiries” involving corruption of billions of rupees would not reach “conclusion”.

All sorts of cases of alleged wrongdoings have been pending in the CDA, some for years. They range from general appointments and regularisation of employees; embezzlements in environment wing, designing of buildings and water supply wing of the CDA.

“One of the major inquiries concerns allotment of over 100 plots to CDA officers, both regular and on deputation, during the tenure of former chairman Farkhand Iqbal. In 2013, the then chairman Syed Tahir Shahbaz had ordered an inquiry into unfair allotment of plots by a former director Estate Management,” said one source.

“About 70 China-made vehicles were purchased for CDA during the 2003-08 tenure of Kamran Lashari as chairman. They had to be dumped within a year but the inquiry into the purchase of substandard vehicles is still underway,” the source added.

“An inquiry is underway how a realtor was allowed to add extra floors in one of the biggest commercial buildings in Islamabad. Officers of Building Control Section were involved in it,” the source said.

An inquiry into the violation of the provisions of the contract of construction of IJP Road has been going on for years, and inquiry into the operation of shuttle bus service for diplomatic enclave could not be started despite court orders, according to the source. Inquiries into allotment of land to The Monal and La-Montana restaurants in the protected National Park Area are also pending.

Another CDA official confided that inquiries into the induction of officers from non-government organisations such as PTCL into the CDA on deputation have also been pending.

During the PPP rule, a number of daily wagers were appointed but some were regularised while those left out have been agitating for the same.

“There are also a number of inquiries under process regarding misconduct and placing of unwarranted advertisements. Another inquiry regarding parking fee in the Lakeview Park is also underway,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2015

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