ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has expedited a probe into alleged fraudulent allotment of seven residential plots by the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

Sources in the investigation agency said in the inquiry related to bogus allotment of seven plots in I-11 and I-12, the FIA has been recording statements of CDA officers.

The sources said the FIA had solid evidence to establish involvement of some former employees, who served on deputation in the CDA, and some current employees in the scam.

The scam surfaced in August last year when the security directorate of the CDA confiscated the files of seven plots (six in I-11 and one in I-12) minutes before issuance of their allotment letters from the One-Window Operation Centre of the civic agency.

Scam surfaced in August last year when files of seven plots were confiscated minutes before issuance of their allotment letters

Later, the security directorate conducted a probe and reached the conclusion that the files were bogus and had backdated signatures of before Aug 2017.

In Aug 2017, the CDA had decided that no plot will be allotted without balloting and some CDA officials allegedly signed the files with choice numbers of plots in I-11 and I-12 with backdates. But they could not maintain the record.

Meanwhile, the FIA collected the entire record of the case from the CDA and its team is now close to concluding the probe.

“This case will be a tip of the iceberg. During the investigation, more revelations will come to fore,” said an official.

He said a racket, comprising property dealers and some employees of the CDA particularly those who served the land directorate in the past, was operating in the CDA.

During the last a few years, the racket got approved hundreds of files with backdated signatures.

In Aug 2017 when the CDA conducted last balloting, there were over 500 vacant plots in I-12. But now, majority of them have been shown as allotted.

“This is a simple case. The list of vacant plots of 2017 should be probed to see how the plots have been allotted. If a plot shown vacant in 2017 is shown allotted today, it means it was allotted with a backdated signature,” said the official.

Meanwhile, the official said the FIA should also probe a recent fraud case in which an official of the land directorate, despite a caution issued by the security directorate that some elements would try to add five fake plots in F-11 to the list of plots, gave a contradictory statement in court.

The sources said when the case of one of the five plots reached the court, an official of the land directorate gave a written statement that the plot was genuine, putting the CDA’s plot worth Rs 30 million at risk.

They said the official in the past had also given such a statement in courts against the interest of the CDA.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2021