Years after they were built at great cost to house entertainment and recreational facilities, these establishments have been abandoned by local authorities and left to the decay.

Today, abandoned buildings constructed for projects conceived and executed by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) are dotted around the city. Some of these projects have now been devolved to the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI), but neither organisation has revived them for public benefit.

One such project is the F-9 Citizens Club. Spread over more than 20 acres, the club was declared illegal by the Supreme Court in 2010, when it was near completion. In its judgement the court had opposed the facility on the grounds that it would only serve the elite.

The SC judgement added: “As a huge amount has already been spent [on the club], the CDA, with the approval of the federal government, instead of abandoning the project, may utilize the building and other facilities for any public welfare project, like women university, medical/engineering college, science, technology or IT institution, etc.”

After the remaining work on the club was completed and the local government formed, administrative control of the club was devolved to the MCI, which has yet to open the building for any purpose.

The Ladies’ Club in G-10 has had a similar fate. After civil work was completed, the project was halted in 2010-2011. The building was abandoned before any finishing work could be carried out.

The Arts and Crafts Village, built 14 years ago over 23 acres to provide a platform for artists, artisans and folk musicians in picturesque Shakarparian, remains incomplete. The only permanent facility there is an art gallery.

The Shakarparian Culture Complex nearby has also been abandoned for years. The Rs1.1 billion project was initiated in 2007-8. It was halted midway in 2009, when Rs420 million had already been spent. According to the PC-I, the complex was to include an auditorium, amphitheatre, piazza, administration block, two cinemas, a conference hall, a seminar hall, a cafeteria and a coffee shop, on 28.5 acres.

In F-6 Markaz, the Club House project was initiated in 2009. After much delay, it was finally completed in 2016 but has yet to be made operational.

A public welfare facility, the only inn built for low-income citizens of the capital in the 80s, has been abandoned since 2010. The inn was operating between 1987 and 2010, when its doors were closed to the public. Today the building is under the administrative control of the MCI and in dire need of renovation.

When contacted, Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz said a process is underway to engage consultants for the F-9 Citizens Club and the F-6 Club House.

He said the consultant would guide the MCI on how to use the F-9 building in accordance with the SC’s decision, and help the MCI create a business plan for the Club House.

The MCI is also trying to get administrative control of the Ladies Club so it can be made functional soon, he said.

“The buildings that are in our control will be made operational,” Mayor Aziz said.

CDA spokesperson Syed Safdar Ali said the Ladies Club and Sharkarparian Culture Complex projects were halted because of funding constraints, adding: “We will look into the issues attached to these projects.”

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2019