ISLAMABAD, June 29: A Rs550 million project of Federal Judicial and Administration Complex (FJAC) was formally launched at Mauve Area, Sector G-10/1, on Saturday.

Chief Justice of Supreme Court, Sheikh Riaz Ahmed, was the chief guest at the foundation-stone-laying ceremony. The complex is being constructed by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).

Speaking on the occasion, the chief justice expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of the CDA and the Public Works Department (PWD). He said the complex should be constructed under a building committee, comprising officials of local judiciary, the capital territory administration and Islamabad Bar Association (IBA). A retired XEN should also be assigned to monitor the work, he emphasized.

He said he had a bitter experience of faulty and non-durable construction of courts’ building in Peshawar due to differences between the national building departments and civic bodies.

“Conflict of interests between the CDA and the PWD, differences on rates, awarding of contracts, commission and contractors will result in non-durable construction of the FJAC. Therefore, formation of a committee is necessary to supervize the project,” the chief justice said.

“If the project is not supervized, the building of the complex will not sustain even the first rain,” he added.

The CDA and the PWD should not consider the complex as an ordinary building and give due importance to the project, he added.

The local administrations, Mr Ahmed said, had never given top priority to the maintenance of courts’ building.

The function was also attended by the chief justice of Federal Shariat Court, Justice Fazal Elahi Khan, Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi of the SC, Justice Aman Ullah Abbasi of the Federal Services Tribunal, Federal Law Secretary Justice Mansoor Ahmed, District and Sessions Judge Sheikh Ahmed Farooq, SSP Syed Kaleem Imam and lawyers of the Supreme Court, high courts and local courts.

Islamabad Bar Association (IBA) president Ishtiaq Raja presented the welcome speech and explained some of the problems faced by the lawyers community in the federal capital.

The IBA secretary, Tariq Jehangiri, said after the completion of the complex, all local courts, chambers of lawyers and offices of the ICT administration would be shifted to it. The complex will be constructed at 10 kanals, he added.

The construction of the judicial complex was an old demand of the lawyers community of the capital.

The lawyers had also filed a plea in the Lahore High Court, requesting the court to ask the CDA for allocating land for the establishment of the complex. The land for the complex had been given on the orders of the high court.

The government has allocated Rs100 million for the complex for the fiscal year 2002-2003. Out of the total cost of the project, Rs66.7 million has been spent on it.