LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has given a clean chit to the LDA while closing the inquiry into reported illegalities in the LDA City project with a direction to its chief to computerise the scheme’s record to ensure transparency in the project, said to be the country’s largest public housing scheme.

“NAB has closed the inquiry into LDA City project after investigation and issued certain directions - computerisation of the record of the project and checks and balances - to ensure complete transparency in it,” a NAB official told Dawn on Tuesday.

When asked whether there was any pressure from some top officials of the Punjab government to close the inquiry as it was making the project controversial, the official’s answer was in negative.

The NAB Lahore had initiated the probe into the project on complaints that the LDA and its development partners were selling the land (plots) more than they had acquired.

The Pakistan Tahreek-i-Insaf had also pinpointed irregularities in the project, alleging four private companies owned by some favourites of the government’ had collected huge sums of money in the name of the scheme, using name of a state entity. The PTI had also accused the government of blocking water supply to the crops to force the farmers to sell out their agriculture land for the scheme.

An LDA official said transparency was being maintained in the LDA City project and NAB’s directions in this regard would also be followed.

The LDA City project was launched about two years ago along the Ferozepur Road.

The Punjab government has already notified seven villages-- Kahna, Kacha, Thay Panju, Sidhar, Halloki, Rakh Jhedu and Toor Warraich -- to be acquired for the project. The land acquisition in the aforementioned villages has reportedly been completed.

The LDA has not acquired the land directly from landowners and hired six development firms for the purpose. Under the agreement, the development partners would get one-third of developed plots of the total land they would surrender or transfer to the LDA and the authority would also pay them one per cent of the total cost of the surrendered land as commission.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2016

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