—-Civic authority to sell more commercial plots to generate revenue

ISLAMABAD: To generate the much-needed revenue to keep itself afloat, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has once again set its eyes on selling commercial plots located at pristine locations around the city, as it has put 57 commercial plots up for grabs in an auction scheduled for October 2-4.

Interestingly, in order to plug the gap between the revenue and in search for alternate solutions to usher in money, the CDA has been selling commercial properties in markets of main sectors such as Blue Area and housing schemes for the past decade.

Around five months back, the authority concluded its landmark three-day auction at Jinnah Convention Centre where the officials said that they had achieved their target and auctioned 29 plots worth over Rs7.10 billion.

They also claimed that public and investors at large participated and appreciated the well-managed auction process which led to an open, transparent and successful auction. Small plots got an enthusiastic response while the response towards large plots was lukewarm.

The auction was conducted under the supervision of Auction Committee Chairman and Financial Advisor/Member CDA Dr Fahad Haroon Aziz.

However, the reality differs greatly.

For past more than a decade, the utter failure of CDA to develop a single new sector in Islamabad not only stands a testament to growing inefficiency and indifference of city managers but has also resulted in selling of valuable commercial plots around the city to generate revenue for ‘non-development’ expenditures, sources inside the civic agency told Pakistan Today.

As Pakistan Today reported, ever since the development of sector G-14 back in 2005-6 during the chairmanship of Kamran Lashari, the CDA has failed to develop another sector. The list of stalled sectors runs in dozens.

Sectors E-12 and G-12 have remained in the news due to issues relating to affectees who demand compensation and allottees who ask for possession since they’ve been given allotment years back. Furthermore, sectors like D-13, E-13, F-13, E-13, C-14, I-17, D-14 have remained on standstill with no hope of redemption in near future.

Twice a year, CDA undertakes this exercise of selling pristine land under the guise of ‘grand auction’ which provides temporary relief for few months at best.

It is pertinent to mention that the smooth functioning of Capital Development Authority depends on generating revenue to meet its expenditures, pay salaries to its employees and officers and undertake massive maintenance and construction work all over the city.

The government of Pakistan gives money to CDA under PSDP alone.

At present, the CDA generates its revenue from multiple sources including property tax, water tax, billboard tax, transfer fees from plot and fees for map approval among others. However, the revenue generated through these sources is paltry and fails to meet the enormous needs of an organisation the size of CDA.