ISLAMABAD: The chairman of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has ordered an investigation into reported heated arguments between a CDA officer and two private consultants on the issue of the latter’s alleged access to official record of housing societies.

Chief Commissioner Islamabad Amer Ali Ahmed, who holds additional charge of the CDA chairman, ordered the deputy commissioner to probe the matter.

Earlier, on Friday, after heated arguments between the officer and private consultants, one of the consultants, Majid Ali of Imarat Group, got an FIR registered against the CDA officer alleging that when he was checking his file the officer harassed him, threatened him of dire consequences and kept him in “habeas corpus”.

On the other hand, the CDA officer also submitted an application to the Aabpara police, stating that two the consultants were caught red-handed tampering with record on Friday.

In his application, the deputy director said during lunch and prayers break, in the record room of housing societies two private persons, including one Majid Khan of Imarat Group and Grana.com, were caught red handed while illegally “tampering with record files of housing societies.”

He said he reported the matter to security directorate, whose officials probed the matter and recorded the statement of the two persons. The officer in his application stated that a few hours later another town planner form the group, Taimoor Abbasi, along with some others entered his office when an official meeting of two directors and other staffers was in progress, and started shouting at him.

The CDA officer said the private consultant was basically trying to threaten him for illegal demand i.e permit him and his staff to tamper with the official record of different housing societies/schemes and projects and commit forgery to add illegal documents in the files.

He also rejected allegation leveled by the consultant against him in the FIR.

The Aabpara police, which has registered an FIR against the CDA officer are yet to start proceedings on the application.

During the last few years, at least two FIRs were registered against CDA officers by private persons.

“The management of CDA should look into the matter of FIRs against its officers by private persons,” said an officer, requesting not to be named. “Otherwise, it will be difficult for us to perform independently,” he said.

When contacted, consultant Taimoor Abbasi rejected allegations leveled by the CDA officer saying he had already submitted an application to the CDA chairman against him. He said the officer harassed his associate who visited the CDA to follow his file related to a project in Zone V and the officer had nothing to do with the Zone V.

“I visited his office to ask him why he harassed my associate and threatened me. We are professionals, we have great respect for professionals but not for those who raise illogical objections on files just to pressure the movers of the files,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2021