ISLAMABAD: The deputy commissioner of Capital Development Authority (CDA) has announced the built-up property award of sector C-13, declaring 328 people eligible for the five-marla plots.
The DC rejected claims of the owners of 186 houses after terming them encroachers.
The CDA deputy commissioner, Sardar Mohammad Asif, announced the names of 328 people who will get five-marla plots against their houses.
However, he declared the other 186 houses illegal, stating that these houses were constructed on the CDA’s land; therefore, their owners have no right to get any rehabilitation benefit whatsoever.
Meanwhile, according to the award, the claims of 108 other applicants for getting plots were also rejected as their houses had less than the required covered area. Therefore, they could not get the plots but will be given cash in accordance with the measurement of their houses.
328 house owners declared eligible for getting five-marla plot each
The sector spreads over 800 kanals and is being termed one of the smallest and beautiful sectors of Islamabad as it is located along the newly-built Margalla Road facing mountains.
The CDA had acquired the sector in 2008 under a land-sharing formula under which the landowners were supposed to get one kanal developed plot against their four kanals land. But the CDA after announcing the land award in 2008-9 did not announce the BuP award, proving a chance to the locals to do construction on the acquired land.
However, the massive encroachment on the state land finally caught the eye of the CDA chairman and the member estate in April this year, who ordered an anti-encroachment operation. The enforcement wing demolished hundreds of new structures which were allegedly built by land grabbers in connivance with the CDA staff.
Two officials of the CDA revenue department - Gardawar Asif Ali and Patwari Tariq Jan - were also suspended for their alleged involvement in construction of illegal structures.
Sources said before the award, there was pressure on the estate wing and the DC office by locals and some politicians for including the names of the owners of demolished houses in the award list as well. However, the sources said the names of demolished houses were not made part of the award.
When contacted, member estate Afnan Alam said this time the CDA also got a third party validation of the award from officers of ICT, who visited the sector and cross checked the lists.
“Despite pressure from locals, the award was announced in a transparent manner as not a single demolished house was made part of it. Now this longstanding issue of the pending BuP has been resolved,” he said.
An official of CDA said now there was no hurdle in development of the sector and soon after clearing the compensation cases, the sector will be handed over to the engineering wing for starting development.
He said PC-I of the sector worth Rs1078 million had already been approved and its planning was done with special focus on high-rise buildings. He said the affectees of the sector (whose land and houses had been acquired) will be allotted plots in the nearest C-15 sector.
This sector of the CDA will be reserved for high-rise buildings.
Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2023