| ISLAMABAD-The Federal Investigation Agency have booked six officers of the Capital Development Authority for illegally approving a rectified layout plan of the Pakistan Medical Cooperative Housing Society and reduced a 60-70 feet wide Nullah into 18 feet that caused high flood in Sector E-11.
Four former CDA officers including then Member Planning Abdul Aziz Qureshi, then DG Planning Ghulam Sarwar Sindhu, then Director Housing Societies Ashiq Ali Ghauri, Project Manager Liaqat Mohay-ud-Din Qadri, two serving officers including incumbent Deputy Director General Planning Zafar Iqbal Zafar and Deputy Director Planning Abdul Haq Barohi and the President of PMCHS of that time Shahid Yaqoob Chaudhry are named in the First Information Report lodged by FIA’s anti-corruption circle.
The illegalities in the approval of the layout plan surfaced almost 10 years after their occurrence when an unfortunate incident of urban flooding happened at Sector E-11 in July 2021—claiming two lives.
Responding to said tragic incident, the city managers had ordered a preliminary fact finding inquiry that found that narrowing down the right of way of a nullah in the area by the aforementioned housing society was one of the main reasons behind such a huge flooding.
Resultantly, the then management of CDA had decided to refer the inquiry report to FIA for further investigation and to take cognizance against the criminal negligence of its officers in the whole process.
The first LOP of Pakistan Medical Cooperative Housing Society was unlawfully approved in 2007 against a land measuring 256.97 Kanals when the society actually owned and possessed only 178 Kanals and 16 Marlas land.
However, CDA cancelled the said LOP of Pakistan Medical Cooperative Housing Society (MPCHS) located in Sector E-11 in 2008 but astonishingly the then Director Housing Society Ashiq Ali Ghauri knowingly and with mala fide intentions illegally approved a rectified layout plan of said society in 2012 against a land measuring 276 Kanals but again the society did not have the complete ownership of the land and it had actually owned/ possessed only 181 Kanals and 02 Marlas.
The said LOP was later once again cancelled by the Director Housing Societies Zafar Iqbal Zafar in 2016 but the inquiry substantiated that when first LOP was cancelled on the basis of the unavailability of land then how the same was rectified knowing the fact that they don’t have the absolute ownership and the possession of land.
Not only this but during the investigation it was also established that the width of Nullah in Sectors D-12, E-12 and E-11 except said society area was 60-70 feet but in the approved rectified LoP, the accused officers of CDA in convenience with President MPCHS Ch Shahid Yaqoob illegally reduced the width of Nullah from 60-70 feet to 18 feet in violation of the rules.
Furthermore, the Nullah was illegally covered whereas in accordance with the CDA policy, it could not be covered.
The inquiry maintained further that the unlawful reduction of the width of the Nullah from 60-70 feet to 18 feet within the area of MPCHS became the main cause of high flood situation on July 28, 2021 in its Street No. 02, which resulted into loss of two valuable lives.
Resultantly, the case against the nominated accused officers and society president is registered under Section 409,109 and 34 of the PPC and 5(2) of the PCA Act 1947 |
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