DHA faces NAB probe in Islamabad besides Lahore

Lahore City, Islamabad Farmhouse scams, shop-a-shop project being investigated

ISLAMABAD: In the DHA related scams, presently being probed by NAB, the Bureau investigators have also found wrongs on part of the military-led authority in the scandalous schemes.

According to a senior NAB source, investigators inquiring into the DHA Lahore City and DHA Farmhouses Islamabad project scams have found that besides the private parties the DHA management was also responsible for the failures in these schemes.

The DHA Lahore City inquiry is being pursued by NAB Lahore while the other is probed by NAB Pindi. The sources said that the Lahore NAB is presently ignoring the role of DHA management in the DHA Lahore City scam. However, in the case of DHA Farmhouses Islamabad project the DHA management was issued the notices and the then administrator, secretary and project director of the scheme have already been questioned.

The sources said that in the DHA Islamabad Farmhouse scam, the NAB investigators found wrongs on parts of both the contracting parties- DHA management and the Eden’s company.

It is said that the DHA Islamabad had initially decided to launch a farmhouse scheme for which it had signed a deal with the Eden Company, which was to acquire the land for the  scheme. However, since the required quantity of land could not be acquired, the scheme was abandoned.

It is said that the Eden Company had engaged Elysium Holdings Pakistan Limited for the purchase of the land acquisition. A formula was evolved under which the owner of 32 kanals of land was to be provided a farmhouse. An allotment certificate was to be issued to all such owners.

It is said that despite the abandonment of the farmhouse scheme by the DHA, a total of 180 certificates were issued to local owners of the land that was never acquired or purchased.  It caused a huge liability for the DHA as despite the abandonment of the projects, there were 180 allotment certificates issued. It is said that almost 120 such allotment certificates were retrieved but the remaining over 50 are still with the concerned owners who seek physical possession.

In this project, the DHA Islamabad claims a loss of Rs500 million whereas the Elysium claims to have transferred approx 6,000 kanals of land to the DHA with an approx value of Rs12 billion.

In yet another case, innumerable number of DHA affected have approached the NAB against Authority’s failure to deliver in the “shop-a-shop” project in DHA Extension Islamabad. Amongst the affected, Air Vice Marshal ® Muhammad Saleemuddin has also formally written a complaint against DHA to Army Chief General Raheel Sharif.

DHA Islamabad launched the project in 2008 but failed to deliver as yet. In his complaint to NAB chairman, the retired Air Vice Marshal said that he paid Rs 2.5 million by 2010. Initially, the DHA Islamabad indicated that the project would be completed by Dec 2011 but it could not happen even in 2015.

Saleemuddin told the NAB that about 60 affected met the DHA Islamabad administrator in May 2012 and lodged a strong protest as none had been informed about any delay. Consequently, the DHAI informed the affected that the project was likely to be completed by the end of 2012 and handing over of shops/offices would commence in the first half of 2013.

In his complaint to NAB, Saleemuddin contended that the DHA has kept more than 565 affected persons in total darkness for the last three years. He along with other 17 affected requested NAB to take a strict legal action against the responsible besides directing the DHAI to pay compensation to the affected since January 2012.