ISLAMABAD: The initiative to auction off vending points (kiosks) in various locations of the city by Capital Development Authority (CDA) is likely to face strong criticism as small businessmen would not be able to compete with business tycoons during the auction.

The civic agency is all set to auction 200 vending points on May 15, 16 and 17, out of the total 1,800 planned for 10-year lease.

However, officials Dawn spoke to said that this policy instead of promoting small businesses might just make them helpless in before business tycoons.

Resultantly, the small businessmen and unemployed youth will not be able to get any benefit from the scheme.

Meeting takes up proposal to give plots on rent to private schools instead of auctioning them

“There are hundreds of opportunities for big businesses to compete but in these small opportunities consideration should be given to small business owners and the un-employed lower strata of society,” he said.

Another official said: “The idea of having planned vending points is very good. This step will add beauty to Islamabad and it will also end the culture of pick and choose allotment. The project is a great initiative but the mode of their disposal through auction is strange. We support transparency but open auction is not a solution,” he said.

The official said that instead of open auction, the CDA should allot vending points through computerised balloting in transparent a manner under controlled rate.

“There should be controlled prices like Rs500,000 or Rs10,00,000 for small vending points and these sites should be allotted through Nadra balloting to low income groups,” he said.

Another officer said that under open auction, there are chances that one vending point will be auctioned against millions of rupees, depending upon locations.

The said vending points will be setup on CDA’s land and Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) will dispose them off through auction. After the auction, the CDA is also planning to remove existing kiosks, which are illegitimate.

“This will be troublesome for poor khokha owners as they will face double action - compete with business tycoons in auction if they want to get planned one, and later face operation against the existing one,” he added.

Last month, the CDA had decided that kiosks should be constructed with a specific design at the sites, which are permissible under Islamabad’s master plan and all kiosks will be leased out after open auctions.

It is relevant to note here that there were over 450 kiosks in Islamabad including licenced ones and illegal, but the MCI after cancelling licences in one go, demolished all of them some years ago.

Later on, many kiosk owners re-constructed their kiosks, but CDA did not own them and since the past few years, owners of kiosks are being informed by CDA that new kiosks with proper designs will be constructed. Sources said that the issue of auction of vending points was also discussed in a pre-board meeting that was held here in CDA’s headquarters.

Besides other issues, the meeting also discussed another controversial policy of leasing out around 150 school plots worth billions of rupees against monthly rent to private school operators. Sources said that in CDA’s land disposal regulations, there is no concept of renting out plots, rather, CDA is supposed to auction the plots. But in a strange move, the CDA’s planning wing proposed that plots should be given to private schools on rent basis. As per CDA, this step will help it move out private schools from residential areas.

It is relevant to note here that private school business is considered one of the best profitable businesses in Islamabad with revenue generated each month through high fees.

CDA is all set to help these businesses by offering its plots worth billions of rupees on monthly rent.

A few days ago, a board member of CDA said that there is no malafide intention behind this initiative, rather the CDA wants to get rid of non conforming use of residential houses, where private schools are operating, he said.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2023