ISLAMABAD: After holding a series of meetings over the last two years, a parliamentary committee on Wednesday concluded that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) is not serious about developing E-12, though people allotted plots there have been waiting for 28 years.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Government Assurance, which met at Parliament House under the chairmanship of MNA Afzal Khokhar, discussed the issue of E-12 and observed that though it is now known as a beautiful city, Islamabad will be the ugliest capital in the world in the next 30 years due to the CDA’s poor performance.

CDA chief and Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz was to brief the committee about progress in E-12 but did not attend the meeting and was directed to attend the next meeting so he can explain the reasons for not developing the sector. Committee members said that failing this, appropriate action will be taken against him under the rules.

Parliamentary body says Islamabad will be the ugliest capital in the world in 30 years due to CDA’s poor performance

According to CDA officials, many of those allotted plots in the sector in 1989 have died. Spread over 777.27 acres, the sector consists of six muzas and in 1989 the CDA sold 4,099 plots which are yet to be developed for residential purposes.

The standing committee has been discussing the issue of E-12 for over two years following a calling attention notice moved by MNA Sher Akbar Khan in 2014. In response to the notice, the minister of state for parliamentary affairs assured the house that the sector will be developed, on which there has been no serious progress yet.

The mover of the calling attention notice also attended the standing committee’s meeting and said it was unjust to those who have been waiting for their plots for almost three decades.

CDA’s Director Land Irfanullah Khan and Secretary Capital Administration and Development Division Nargis Ghaloo told the committee the CDA has been making efforts to resolve the issue since a sub-committee’s directives. The CDA official said the civic agency will give the committee a presentation about its efforts during the next meeting.

The committee also considered the performance of the Ministry of Water and Power.

It was informed that at times, consumers were delivered their electricity bills after the passing of the due date. The committee directed the water and power ministry to improve its billing system and come up with a mechanism to deliver bills at least two weeks before the due date.

The committee was told that some 578 assurances were given on the floor of the house from 2013 to Oct 2016 and that various divisions often demand implementation reports for these assurances. It was told that 85 implementation reports were received by various divisions during the last three months.

The meeting was attended by MNAs Abdul Majeed Khan, Sardar Irfan Dogar, Chaudhry Mohammad Munir Azhar, Syed Sajid Mehdi, Abdul Hakeem Baloch and Shafqat Mahmood.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2017