Did CDA create plots in D-12 Sector for selected bureaucrats?

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Ombudsman office Wednesday asked for the complete official record from Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA) to decide the case of the alleged out-of-turn and unfair allotment of D-12 plots to selected members of bureaucracy. During the hearing of complaint filed by former secretary and member PM’s Inspection Commission Syed Abu Ahmad Akif, it was revealed that the CDA has recently intimated the FGEHA about the availability of around a dozen plots which the Authority has allotted to several federal secretaries. The FGEHA representative claimed that it had done nothing illegal and all decisions were fully legal. It was argued that said seniority list of eligible officers in the BS-22 category was provided by the Establishment Division according to which the FGEHA made the allotments.

Sources said that the Authority representative argued that at the time when the FGEHA issued the provisional offer letters for these allotments there was no waiting list available and thus the offer letters were issued as per "merit".

The FGEHA Director Legal in his oral statement said that it regularly writes to the CDA to provide plots in its sector. He revealed that 13 plots had been made available by CDA to FGEHA on 9th March 2020 and these plots were allotted accordingly.

The complainant, however, argued that the Director Legal’s argument raised the question if the plots which were made available by CDA on March 9th, are the same plots approved in the CDA Board meeting of 18th February. As the minutes of the CDA Board meeting stated that objections to this new demarcation can be filed within one month of the meeting date i.e. March 18. So how CDA made these plots available before such date.

He said that another issue involved is whether these allotments were made in violation of the Islamabad Land Disposal Rules 2005 whereby all new plots arising in developed schemes have to be auctioned.

It was also said that the federal government employees quota of 10 percent is only available at the time of initial planning or development of a sector. He added that the BS-22 scheme was a violation of Article 38 of the Constitution as the state could not discriminate between citizens in terms of various facilities including housing.

The hearing was adjourned on account of record till May 20. For the next date, the Ombudsman adviser has required the presence of the DG, FGEHA.