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Thursday March 28, 2024

CDA proposes killing the goose that lays golden eggs

Wants to build sector at land hosting National Agriculture Research Centre

By Umar Cheema
June 17, 2015
ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority is set to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.The city managers have conceived a plan of raising one-time revenue of Rs100 billion through launching a housing sector by dismantling iconic National Agriculture Research Centre that has contributed around Rs3000 billion in 30 years of its operations through research and development on food security.
As thousands of acres of agriculture land is being converted into housing societies in major cities, the CDA has joined the league without realising its negative impact on agriculture research being carried out at NARC, the only facility at the federal level with millions of dollars investment of donor countries to make it a premier institution.
Now when the CDA and NARC have locked horns over 1300-acre land allocated in 1975 by Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, all eyes are set on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who has to decide what is more important - the research on food security or yet another housing sector offering one-time revenue to the cash-starved government.
The News has obtained the proposal forwarded by the CDA and the point-wise response of the NARC dismissing the case of the former. The CDA floated the proposal to the Cabinet Division that subsequently sought the opinion of the ministry of national food security and research for dismantling this research facility in order to build a housing society.
The investment of billions of rupees on NARC infrastructure by international organisations for cutting edge research has also not been taken into account while considering the plan for a housing society. Agencies like JICA, USAID and UN organisations have invested millions of dollars for setting up state of the art research facilities.
CDA argues in its proposal that developing a housing facility will fetch one-time Rs100 billion in addition to the commercial potential of this venture to the tune of Rs30-50 billion.
NARC responds to this proposal by saying that “mere assessment of one-time revenue generation by CDA at the cost of dismantling NARC which has been established over a period of time with investment of billions of rupees and is generating regular benefits worth billions of rupees through R&D work is a myopic idea.”
In support of its arguments, NARC has listed its projects that contributed around Rs3000 billion to the public exchequer by improving crop yield, vegetables, gardening, poultry, seeds and fighting the diseases plaguing crops.
It argues that if generation of funds is the only reason for closing down a national icon like NARC, will CDA also close down the equally important institutions like Quaid-i-Azam University, International Islamic University, NUST, Allama Iqbal Open University and excellent facilities like Sports Complex, Islamabad Club, Guns & Country Club etc?
Raising question about the utility of land, the CDA submitted that ground coverage was allowed up to 2250 square feet area as per original layout plan but NARC has constructed beyond 54,306 square feet area.
NARC has responded by saying it is following the master plan in line with the provision of legal instrument of PARC Ordinance 1981 as per emerging research needs and that the ground coverage of 2250 square feet was not the condition of this lease agreement of the government land.
Regarding the utility of the land under question, the CDA argues that the land is situated in zone-IV of Islamabad Capital Territory where public sector housing schemes are permissible.
NARC has dismissed the argument stating that this area is part of the national park wherein the land was allotted to various government institutions like NIH, NCRD, COMSATS, Pak Turk School and college, Urdu University, Hamdard University etc.
NARC has billions of rupees investment on the scientific and research infrastructure development. Its laboratories have state of the art equipment. “The government institutions cannot be disbanded just because the land now has become attractive for housing scheme through a private developer,” the response goes on.
CDA has called into question the performance of NARC saying its performance assessment must be conducted through the relevant ministry or by private organisation.
NARC has defended its performance saying international consultant of the USAID has documented about it saying: “among all the developing countries, this is the best national agricultural research facility of any nation”.
CDA itself has recently witnessed the successful demonstration of new technologies developed by NARC like bioremediation of sewage water at Rose and Jasmine garden, establishment of 200 kitchen gardening clubs, and production of new brand of Margalla honey. “Needless to mention that the CDA could not make facility of sewage treatment for the Shehzad Town and the same is being bio-remediated at NARC,” said the response.