ISLAMABAD: Five years on, the Capital Development Authority still has to come up with a policy regarding hundreds of kiosks in Islamabad that were demolished in 2018-19 after the administration declared their allotment illegal.

In response to a question about the status of these kiosks, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi informed the Senate in a written response dated December 13 that the CDA board would take up the issue in its next meeting after getting input from all stakeholders.

“Most respectfully, it is submitted that the subject issue was discussed with the chairman [of] CDA in a meeting held on 23.10.2024 since the issue requires input from multiple stakeholders, including the planning wing, environment wing of CDA and MCI (Municipal Corporation Islamabad). Therefore, [the] chairman [of] CDA directed to obtain views from all stakeholders and to bring this agenda in the upcoming CDA Board meeting,” the minister’s response said.

He said once the CDA board’s meeting convened on the said agenda, the final outcome and principal decision regarding these kiosks would be intimated by the departments concerned.

The minister was responding to a number of questions asked by Senator Kamran Murtaza of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam.

Senator Kamran had asked the minister to state whether it was a fact that the process of earmarking and fresh allotments of 485 kiosks in Islamabad was pending before the CDA and MCI for the past five years; if so, the reasons thereof, indicating also the time by when the said process would be completed and fresh allotment letters would be issued in each case.

He had also asked if any action had been taken against the officials of the CDA and the MCI responsible for the said delay; if so, the details thereof. The senator had also sought details of previous owners of these kiosks, the date of allotment, and the location in each case separately.

It may be noted that there were more than 450 kiosks in the capital that were cancelled by the MCI’s Directorate of Municipal Administration in 2018-19. In addition to the registered kiosks, there were hundreds of illegal kiosks operating in the capital as well. The MCI and CDA, however, demolished a number of them after declaring them illegal.

During his tenure (2016-20), then-mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz appeared before the Islamabad High Court and stated that the administration granted licences to khokhas decades ago because there were no shops in the capital’s sectors and sub-sectors. He said there were more than 2,000 illegal kiosks in the capital, adding that licences for more than 400 kiosks were issued in the last few decades. He claimed that instead of poor residents, influential individuals and even former ministers had obtained licences to set up small kiosks and then occupied nearby land that caused losses to the tune of billions of rupees to the exchequer.

Since then, there has been no progress on this issue. A few years ago, the CDA had decided that it would introduce a uniform policy, and kiosks would be set up at specific places. However, that policy could not be implemented. Similarly, a couple of years ago, the CDA had decided to auction kiosks through a competitive process, but it failed to hold an auction.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2024