ISLAMABAD, Oct 1: At last Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has started to take charge of the city. He has appointed Javed Iqbal Awan as the new chairman CDA, removing Farkhand Iqbal from the helm of the civic authority.

The outgoing chairman was given the position by the then prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani in December 2011.

According to one source, the report of auction of 12 plots and 11 buyers for the commercial plots of Blue Area Extension are — prepared by Cabinet Secretary Nargis Sethi — proved to be the last nail in the coffin.

Premier Ashraf blocked the auction deals, after reports appeared that the 12 commercial plots in F-8 and G-9 greenbelts — which is an extension of Blue Area — each measuring 1,333.33 square yards, were committed to 11 pre-qualified bidders, in a shady manner by the CDA management on September 8.

“Ms Sethi recommended to the Prime Minister that Mr Iqbal should be removed from his position, as the chairman CDA,” added one senior official of the CDA administration department.

In a press release issued by the office of the Prime Minister, it said: “As a first step [for making Islamabad a model city] the Prime Minister has decided to appoint a new Chairman of the CDA.”

But it is for the first time that the incumbent chairman has been given a chance to select his own team (board members).

The prime minister’s media office said: “It has also been decided to bring in new members of finance, administration, estate management, environment and engineering in the CDA.”

However, one official of the Establishment Division said that 6th Common district management group officer, Mr Awan has been given a hectic target to fix the affairs of CDA, which is almost close to bankruptcy and has a history of poor governance and nepotism.

Mr Awan has previously worked as secretary of Production in 2011 and later served as secretary of Interfaith Harmony in April this year.

But Mr Awan was forced to step down after developing differences with the federal minister for Production and was lastly on the strength of Establishment Division.

“Mr Awan was made an officer on special duty (OSD) and could not get any posting for the last few months, until now,” said the official.

It is pertinent to mention that Mr Awan had served as the deputy commissioner of Rawalpindi, during the second regime of Benazir Bhutto in 1996.

And in its press release, the Prime Minister’s media office made routine promises and tall claims with the people of the city.

It stated: “Prime Minister Ashraf has been carrying out intense deliberations to chalk out a roadmap for implementing his vision of making Islamabad a model Capital city to provide all civic amenities and leave a lasting imprint on visitors.”

But one official at CDA insisted: “During the last four years, the PPP government has failed to develop the capital and provide the basic amenities in the city like much needed transit bus service, installing new water pipeline, clean drinking water, a waste disposal site, development of sectors like D-12 and E-12, expansion of Islamabad Highway (from Koral Chowk towards Rawat) and block the rapid commercialisation of residential units.”

“The authority has also failed to complete the newly opened residential units like Park Enclave and Margalla Enclave,” maintained the official.