Islamabad plots: a mere eyewash by CDA

By Usman Manzoor

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has cancelled the 1,000 allotment letters of plots in an upcoming model village, issued in two days by a director, who is a friend of the prime minister, but the cancellation is an exercise in futility, as the same letters will be reissued to the same people because the list has not been amended, CDA has confirmed.

Sources said some influential figures, including a powerful federal minister, some members of parliament and an informal monitor of the CDA, are involved in this mega land scam. Chairman Capital Development Authority Imtiaz Inayat Elahi, while talking to The News, said that he had cancelled the entire lot of allotment letters and now has directed to issue the allotment letters to the actual allottees only who will have to be present in person before the CDA officials.

But surprisingly, he said there was no bogus allotment letter issued and there were

no fake entries in the awards list. “The issue of award list is different because it contains the names of only those who are residents of Kuri,” the chairman said, adding: “Those people who are questioning the award list are not coming up with concrete evidence”.

He mentioned that any fake entry in the award list could be checked at any stage. Details reveal that Director Land CDA, Dr Waseem Shamshad, who hails from Multan set a record by issuing 500 allotment letters for residential plots on one single day and another 400 the next day.

The said officer issued a total of 3,632 allotment letters to the affectees of Kuri Model village of which more than 2,400 did not have the approval. It was also reported that 2,410 allotment letters were dispatched from the CDA’s office by the official concerned named Younis; however, a total of 1,222 allotment letters were dispatched from the house of Dr Wasim Shamshad.

The authority’s dispatch register has the entries of these 3,632 allotment letters, but no one has any idea if any number of allotment letters were issued besides those reflected on the dispatch register.

The complaints about the fake entries in the award list have been lodged with the office of chairman CDA, members Estate and the National Accountability Bureau Sources in Capital Development Authority say that the cancellation of allotment letters was just eyewash as CDA will again allot the plots to the same people.

“If the award list is correct then what was the irregularity in issuing 500 or 400 allotment letters in one day,” said an official of CDA adding: “The problem was with the award list”. Assistant Director Khalid Khokhar, who was part of the survey team which compiled the award list, said that the list was genuine.

But Khokhar, who did not see anything wrong in the whole affair, passed the buck to Tehsildar Mian Aftab for identifying the affectees. He said that there are 7,246 people who have been registered in the award list of whom 5,000 would be given the plots while the rest would only be given the compensation of the debris of their houses.

He said that there was no question of issuing allotment letters to outsiders because those in the award list were local people. The Capital Development Authority had announced Model Village Kuri some time back and the land was acquired for setting up this Model Village for housing units each measuring 30x70 feet, to be allotted to the local people on priority from whom the CDA has acquired the land.

It was the CDA chairman, who himself recently revealed to The News that in his absence Shamshad issued 500 allotment letters for residential plots on one single day and another 400 the next day. Wasim Shamshad is a DMG officer, who was brought to Islamabad following the prime minister’s verbal instructions despite some pending inquiries against him in the Punjab anti-corruption department. (TN)

'Benazir Sasta Tandoors’ to open tomorrow

The first outlets of `Benazir Sasta Tandoor’ are being established at four various points in the federal.

Formal inauguration of these outlets would be held tomorrow (Monday), announced Patron-in-Chief of Zardari Lovers Public Secretariat Shabbir Babar.

He told that his organisation is formally opening Benazir Sasta Tandoors in poor and under-privileged areas of Islamabad.

Babar said roti would be sold at these outlets for Rs 3 instead of Rs 4 and naan Rs 4 instead of Rs 3. app

Financial crunch: CDA projects likely to run into problems

Authority shelves construction of 11th Avenue, CDA Headquarters and launching of Rapid Mass Transit System

The ongoing development projects in the city could run into problems sooner or later as the Capital Development Authority (CDA) is facing serious financial crunch.

Sources told Daily Times on Friday that CDA was reportedly so strapped of cash that it has decided to release little funds for its ongoing development projects. The authority has taken this decision as it is left with just only Rs 1 billion after using most of its reserve funds and the money generated from plots’ sale during different auctions, they said.

They said this decision would badly affect the ongoing projects such as construction of Zero Point Interchange, construction of Lethrar Road, Development of F-9 Park, Development of Sector D-12, Culture Complex at Shahkarparian and upgradation of Margazar Zoo. “It would not only delay completion of the projects but also create quality problems,” said the sources.

Sources said the civic body had also shelved its projects, which were in the pipeline, including construction of 11th Avenue, launching of Rapid Mass Transit System and construction of CDA Headquarters.

DG: CDA Director General (DG) Civic Management and Public Relations Mustafain Kazmi talking to Daily Times said though the authority was facing shortage of funds, it would not stop or affect the ongoing developments projects. “ CDA is releasing funds to all contractors of the ongoing projects and therefore all these projects would be completed in its stipulated time,” he said.

He said CDA had funds to complete the ongoing projects. However, he said the civic body would hold plots’ auction after Ramazan to generate more funds. “CDA would launch new projects on priorities basis, but delay in launching of new projects does not mean that CDA is facing huge financial crisis”, he said.

CDA Chairman Imtiaz Inayat Elahi has said they would not prefer cosmetic development in future but launch projects on priority basis, said Kazmi, adding, CDA is now keenly focusing on sectors developments to solve residential problems in the city and to give possession of plots to allottees.

Former foreign secretary Niaz A Naik found dead

Former Foreign secretary Niaz A Naik found dead at his residence in Islamabad on Saturday. According to police sources, the body is three to four days old. He was living alone.

Illegal kidney transplants: Case disposed of after centre assures SC of no more operations

By Masood Rehman

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday disposed of a suo motu case against Kidney Centre, Rawalpindi, for carrying out illegal transplantations of human organs after it was assured that no further transplantations would be carried out.

A three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ch Ijaz Ahmed and Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui, disposed of the case. The court had summoned the last three year’s complete record of the kidney centre to know how many transplantations/operations were carried out.

Earlier, in an undertaking Aadil Hospital, Lahore, had also decided not to carry out transplantations of any sort or description in future.

The court said that the object of promulgating Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Ordinance, 2007 was to provide for the regulation, removal, storage and transplantation of human organs and tissues but it seemed that the provisions of the ordinance were not adhered to strictly and the sale of human organs was going on in two hospitals whose names were mentioned in a letter sent by the Transplantation Society of Pakistan’.

The court took suo motu notice of the illegal sale of organs after the Transplantation Society of Pakistan pointed out that Kidney Centre, Rawalpindi, and Aadil Hospital, Lahore, were involved in the trade.

The law was introduced by the Shaukat Aziz government on the instructions of the apex court, which had directed the administration to devise measures against illegal donors, sellers and purchasers of human organs by introducing a proper law.

Complaints about mushroom growth of private clinics in the country, especially in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, had prompted the apex court to take up the matter.

It was revealed that poor donors from small villages were enticed into selling their kidneys through middlemen to buyers, mainly from Middle East countries, because of poverty or huge debts.

A few years ago some newspapers had even printed chilling photographs of at least a dozen brick kiln workers posing shirtless outside Lahore Press Club. All of them had sold their kidneys to pay off debts to kiln owners to earn their freedom. (DT Report)

Capital Hospital’s upgradation ordered

*secretary calls for establishment of the hospital’s medical college
* Hospital caters to employees of 14 government departments * Cabinet Division

ISLAMABAD: Federal Secretary for Cabinet Division Zafar Mehmood on Friday directed high-ups of Capital Development Authority (CDA) to ensure provision of state-of-the-art facilities to patients at Capital Hospital (CH).

According to a press statement, he issued this directive during a visit to the CH. He also asked the CDA to take necessary measures to upgrade the hospital in line with modern technology. Cabinet Division Additional Secretary Atta Muhammad Raja, CDA Chairman Tariq Mehmood Khan and all CDA Board members also accompanied Zafar.

Medical college: He also asked the hospital administration to go for possibilities either to affiliate the CH with any private medical college or set up its own medical college.

He emphasised the need for converting the hospital into a teaching hospital, so that expertise of senior medical specialists could benefit the patients. Zafar directed the authorities concerned to provide latest healthcare facilities and medicines to the city residents.

On the occasion, the CDA chairman said the authority was already working on a plan to upgrade the CH. Emergency services will be improved and professionally skilled experts inducted into the CH medical board, he added. Khan said the CH was already catering to general population of Islamabad besides the CDA employees.

Briefing: Earlier, CH Executive Director Dr Hamid Zaib Khan briefed the Cabinet Division secretary on the hospital. He said the CH, established 27 years ago as a dispensary, had now become third major hospital of this city. He said the hospital was also providing healthcare facilities to the employees of 14 government departments.

Under the CDA chairman’s guidance, Dr Zaib said, efforts were underway to install high-tech equipment and maintain relevant facilities at the hospital to bring it at par with two other major hospitals of the city. The CH is the first healthcare centre of the city that is installing its own oxygen plant, he said.

In the end, the Cabinet Division secretary visited different wards, emergency and X-ray departments and ambulance, rescue and emergency services centre of the hospital.

PM Yousuf Raza Gilani announces restoration of deposed CJ Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday announced that the government had decided to reinstate the country’s Supreme Court chief justice in a bid to end political turmoil.

Main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif has been locked in a showdown with President Asif Ali Zardari demanding the reinstatement of the top judge, who was sacked by ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2007.

‘I announce today that Iftikhar Chaudhry and all other deposed judges will be reinstated from March 21,’ Gilani said in a televised address to the nation.
The current Supreme Court chief justice will retire on that date, allowing Chaudhry to take over, the premier said.

He directed provincial governments to release all those arrested during a stringent government clampdown aimed at foiling a so-called long march organised by lawyers and political activists, due to reach Islamabad on Monday.

He also immediately lifted section 144, a 19th century British law, put into effect in the capital and the provinces of Punjab, Sindh and North West Frontier Province outlawing public demonstrations.