ISLAMABAD: The traditional negligence of Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the alleged connivance of its officers with a leaseholder resulted into the establishment of a two-storey market on a teahouse plot.

An inquiry conducted by a three-member team of the CDA, headed by Director General Administration Asif Shahjahan, has revealed that in 1963 a plot was leased out for the teahouse, Café Irum, in Sector G-6/2 to Nusrat Hussain Zaidi. But today a two-storey commercial market stands on the plot against the terms of the lease documents.

In many other cases, CDA officers have also been accused of giving undue favour to owners of plots by making post-bid changes.

Sources said even the status of several plots meant for clinics were changed to commercial.

However, in the teahouse plot case, the CDA did not give any favour in writing to the leaseholder; rather the officers concerned kept their eyes closed towards the violations and restricted themselves to the issuance of notices only.

The lease for the teahouse plot was for 33 years and renewable for two subsequent period of 33 years each (99 years). Initially, the plot was allotted to Nusrat Hussain Zaidi but in 1980 it was transferred to Mohammad Arif.

Sources in the human resource directorate of the CDA, to which the inquiry report was submitted by the committee for onward submission to the CDA chairman, told Dawn that when the lease period expired on May 17, 1996, the civic agency failed to take possession of the plot despite issuance of several notices/reminders. And the matter is still under consideration without any solid reason.

“It was supposed that the lease of the teahouse would be renewed on 17-5-1996, but the state management wing neither extended the lease period nor terminated it,” read the inquiry report available with Dawn.

It said the annual rent of the plot was also outstanding since 1992 and no concrete steps were taken for the recovery of the amount.

The report said on several occasions the encroachment on the plot in the form of the two-storey building was pointed out but the CDA could not move beyond the issuance of notices.

“A notice on the non-confirming use of the teahouse was issued by the estate management-II to the leaseholder in 2011. The notice said the surveyor of the estate management wing reported that the owner had changed its use to multiple commercial activities without approval in violation of the terms and conditions of the allotment letter. But the notice was received back undelivered and is available in the file of the estate management-II. Thereafter, no action has been taken by the staff of the wing without any solid reason whereas the plot is not far from the CDA office,” said the report.

It added that in 2011 the CDA moved a file for the demolition of the illegally-constructed market but no approval was solicited and the file remained silent since then.

The file was again submitted to the section concerned on February 7, 2016, for the demolition of the building and notice was issued after approval of the director building control section on February 2. But the illegal construction is yet to be pulled down.

The report said a member of the inquiry committee visited the site and found violations, adding on the ground floor shops, a mini-market and on the first floor temporary steel trusses (tailoring) shops and video shops etc., existed.

The report said in the light of evidence/documentary proof as well as after conducting physical inspection of the site, it is evident that officers/officials of the estate management, building control and enforcement directorates are equally responsible for not doing their job efficiently or have been exercising willful negligence.

When contacted, Mazhar Hussain, the CDA spokesperson, said the inquiry report had been submitted to the HRD for onward submission to the chairman.

“If anything is found against our officials, the authority will take strict action against them,” he said.

The leaseholder of the teahouse plot could not be contacted for comments.

Director Building Control Shafi Marwat said: “We will take strict action against the violations and the plot will be brought into confirming use.”

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2017

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