THIS is with reference to the report ‘After cold response from investors, CDA plans major changes to policy’ (April 8). One of the reasons given while shifting the capital from Karachi to the Potohar region was to keep the civil and military bureaucracy away from the tempting business/commercial hustle and bustle of the metropolis. That being so, why is the Capital Development Authority (CDA) lamenting the loss of interest by investors in such activity in Islamabad now?

As it is, the cost of living in the capital has gone up with rising prices of real estate and rents, compounded by acute water and parking problems. Besides, government officials, too, face severe housing shortages. Does the CDA now want a transition of Islamabad, an administrative capital, to a business capital?

Furthermore, one fails to comprehend the logic relating to how investment in plots of land, which means hoarding and holding the same land without adding any value to it, for future lucrative tax-free return to the investor, can boost the country’s economy.

Has any set of data ever been gathered, complied or released for public consump- tion to assess the amount deposited in government coffers by way of taxes by the community of businessmen, traders and investors in Islamabad?

It looks like the CDA has somewhat of a soft corner and appeasement policy when it comes to matters related to the so-called investors, who happen to be none other than members of the community of traders and businessmen in Islamabad.

Khaled
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2024