ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has yet to implement an Islamabad High Court (IHC) order about the issuance of a No Demand Certificate (NDC) –a pre-requisite for allotment of plots.

The CDA through a letter dated January 17, 2024, had banned the issuance of NDC for further allotment of residential plots, which were allotted from July 2021 to September 2023 until clearance from the inquiry being conducted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Last year, the FIA started a probe against alleged fraudulent allotments during the said period.

However, the CDA banned the NDC for all allotment of plots, without any distinction of legitimate and alleged bogus plots, putting many citizens in trouble. During the said period, the CDA allotted hundreds of plots, which were further sold in markets and second and third buyers are now suffering.

“This is the right of the CDA to stop further allotment of any plot, which was initially allotted through illegal way, but a blanket ban on all plots is not justified,” said an official.

The issue was also reached in Islamabad High Court by some people and the court directed the CDA to give relief to petitioners. IHC Justice Babar Sattar also set aside the said orders dated January 17. In his order, Justice Sattar said: “ In terms of rights to property, it is settled proposition that a purchaser step into the shoes of the seller and doesn’t inherit a title better than that of the seller.”

Then CDA moved an intra-court appeal, but that was also rejected. Despite the said court orders, the CDA has yet to start the operation of issuing NDCs.

A CDA official in a detailed response to Dawn’s question said that the civic agency would start issuing NDCs “soon”.

“After completing some formalities in the coming days, we will start issuing NDCs,” he said and added that the CDA had issued the said notification in January as it was apprehensive that it might become a party to any illegality regarding the transfer of the plots. The officer said that the CDA also took this plea before the IHC. “Anyhow, now this issue is going to be settled as soon we will finalise our working,” he said.

The NDC is a pre-requisite for the transfer of plots from one party to another and if an NDC is not issued, it means that the transfer will not take place.

Separately, the sources said that FIA also expedited its probe against the CDA officials and two FIRs had already been registered a few months ago regarding 62 plots of Sector I-15 as the CDA had held balloting for these plots, but they were not allotted. The second FIR was related to the allotment of 11 plots. The FIA had arrested several CDA officials, who later secured bail.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2024