ISLAMABAD: The proposed restructuring of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) may need legal cover, the Ministry of Interior told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday.

Appearing in response to a petition filed by the CDA Union against the authority’s restructuring, the interior additional secretary said that the transfer of CDA directorates to federal ministries and divisions may require amendments to CDA laws.

The cabinet, led by Prime Minister Imran Khan, recently decided to give the CDA’s Road Directorate to the National Highway Authority (NHA), which falls under the Ministry of Communication as part of a proposal to restructure the authority.

CDA Hospital and its Health Services Directorate would be handed over to the Ministry of National Health Services while the CDA Model School would be transferred to the Ministry of Federal Education, the Sports and Culture Directorate would go to the Ministry of Interprovincial Coordination and the Road Directorate, Machinery Pool Organisation (MPO), Special Projects and Geological Lab would be transferred to the NHA.

The project directorates for the National Police Academy, Parliament Lodges, Electrical and Mechanical Development, Aiwan-i-Sadr, Ministers’ Enclave and Federal Government Residences and Lodges would be transferred to a dedicated cell under the Ministry of Housing and Works.

In addition, CDA has also been asked not to develop new residential sectors and to focus on developing stalled ones instead.

The interior additional secretary said that the Ministry of Interior has noted the letter from the Institutional Reforms Cell dated June 4, 2020, regarding the proposed restructuring of the CDA including the transfer of various formations. However, he conceded that the proposed restructuring could not be implemented without amending CDA laws.

The cabinet additional secretary told the court that the cabinet’s decision took the form of an advisory that required the concerned divisions to formulate plans including proposed amendments, if any.

The court asked whether the petition was premature in view of the statements by the respective secretaries, to which counsel for the petitioner Kashif Ali Malik pointed out that he had challenged the entire restructuring process, including the process for appointing a managing director and the conversion of the CDA board from an executive to non-executive board.

The process is in direct conflict with the provisions of the 1960 CDA Ordinance read with the IHC judgement in the case of then CDA chairman Sheikh Anser Aziz, he argued. In addition, the interior ministry issued an advertisement seeking to hiring a managing director for the CDA without waiting for the amendment process.

The court then asked the interior additional secretary about the present status of the hiring process, to which the secretary said that the ministry has received applications that it is examining but no one has been called for an interview.

The CDA member administration told the court that the authority has drafted an amendment that has been shared with the Law Division for review.

The court adjourned the hearing until July 17.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2020