ISLAMABAD: The civic agency has formed a fact-finding committee to look into reports that private housing societies have encroached on state land in E-11.

According to a document dated April 5, Deputy Director General Land and Estate Afnan Alam will head the two-member committee while Director Land Sidra Anwar will be its secretary. The committee is supposed to submit its report within 14 days.

CDA officials told Dawn that operators of five societies in E-11 had developed these societies after purchasing land from private landowners who had been allotted land by the CDA in lieu of their property in F-11, F-12 and E-12.

The officials said the CDA had allotted 460 acres to the landowners in E-11 who later sold them to the housing societies.

Deputy Director General Land and Estate Afnan Alam to head committee, Director Land Sidra Anwar to be secretary

They said there was a total of 746 acres in E-11, out of which 203 acres had not been acquired while 460 of the 543 acquired acres had been allotted to landowners affected in three residential sectors.

Subsequently, out of the total 460 acres (3,680 kanals), people sold out 3,400 kanals to the housing societies.

However, CDA officials said local people had been complaining that their 280 kanals were in possession of the housing societies.

On the other hand, the locals filed a number of court cases against the CDA complaining that their land was in the adverse possession of housing societies because of the civic agency.

They have been demanding that the CDA should play its role in giving them possession of their land in E-11 so that the civic agency could smoothly take over the land in E-12 and F-12.

“This is a chronic issue and in the past several inquiries were ordered but the issue is still pending. Let’s see the outcome of the inquiry ordered by the CDA chairman,” said an official of the land directorate.

He said this was a matter of billions of rupees as on an average one kanal residential plot costs around Rs50 to Rs70 million and commercial land Rs100 to Rs150 million per kanal.

The officer said until the issue was settled, the civic agency will also face difficulty in getting possession of its land in F-12 and E-12.

The officer said the CDA had got 406 acres (in three sectors) in exchange of 460 acres in E-11 which it allotted to the locals of three sectors.

He said possession of land in F-11 had already been taken over by the CDA but the civic agency had been facing difficulty in taking over the land in E-12 and F-12.

“Yes, we have ordered an inquiry and will take every possible step to protect the state and private land. We will move ahead in the light of the inquiry report,” said a senior officer of the CDA.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2022