Illegal land allotment: NAB arrests CDA officials, contractor

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Rawalpindi Region Sunday arrested former and serving senior CDA officials as well as the contractor in an illegal land allotment case. The arrested officials include ex-director Urban Planning CDA Ghulam Sarwar Sandhu who was recently demoted from the post of DG to deputy director and ex-member planning CDA Mr. Nusratullah. Sandhu wrongfully presented facts in his summary for illegal award of 4.5 acres of land at the prime location of 3rd Avenue, Diplomatic Enclave, Islamabad. The contract was awarded to his front man Muhammad Hussain (the contractor) for developing multiple facilities for visa seekers and running shuttle service. Accordingly, the said piece of land worth billions of rupees was awarded to the contractor in 2008 at throwaway price of Rs2 per square yard per annum as rent of land without inviting bids. Moreover, the contractor operated this facility till 2015 and illegally charged Rs500 from passengers for transportation to Diplomatic Enclave. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had taken notice of the matter and termed the contract award illegal and a glaring example of favouritism.