ISLAMABAD, Feb 2: Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao says the government has given complete financial and administrative autonomy to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to generate more funds for the development of the city.
He said this while inaugurating Khayaban-i-Iqbal Road here on Wednesday. The minister said during the next fiscal year, the authority would have Rs3 billion funds to execute development works.
He said 2005-2006 would be the "year of development" for Islamabad during which new sectors would be opened, plots would be given to the people, especially the low-income group, and prices of land would decline.
"For this, I congratulate the CDA chairman and his team members who are working with commitment to provide better facilities to the people and improve environment in Islamabad," he said.
The minister said dualization of Khayaban-i-Iqbal Road would help reduce traffic load on other adjacent roads including the busy Jinnah Avenue Road. Mr Sherpao said the dualized Khayaban-i- Iqbal would be stretched further to Sector F-11 and Constitutional Avenue in the next phase.
The minister also formally opened the newly-widened Islamabad Highway from Zero Point to Faizabad flyover. However, he pointed out some faults at three places and directed the Frontier Works Organization (FWO) to remove them.
He said the long-standing dispute of Sector D-12 had been settled and agreement for compensation of land between the villagers of E-12 and the CDA would take place within a week.
Similar agreements with the villagers of Sector I-14, I-15 and I-16 would be held soon for acquisition of land presently occupied by them, he added. Talking about kutchi abadis, he said, six regularized kutchi abadis would be shifted to Alipur Farash and four other would be upgraded at their present locations.
Speaking on the occasion, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman, Kamran Lashari, said the authority had set a target of Rs3 billion development projects for the fiscal year 2005-2006. "It would be the biggest budget for the development works ever announced by the CDA," he said.
The official said the current year's budget of Rs2.3 billion was the biggest one so far but for the next year additional Rs700 million were being allocated. The official said the authority had started increasing its resources under the directives of the federal government. "A pre- budget meeting of the CDA would be held on March 9 in which the Annual Works Programme for the next fiscal would be approved," he said.