Plot
Mafia Out to Rip Off Billions
By Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: A new land scandal, involving billions of rupees, is
in the making in the Federal Capital Territory of Islamabad and
in its surroundings, which is feared to rip thousands off their
hard earned savings.
Investigations reveal that in the name of “registered”
housing societies thousands of plots have been sold on dubious
papers, with vast majority of the societies either not having
enough land in their possession or selling plots illegitimately
without acquiring no objection certificate (NOC) from the concerned
authorities.
Real estate agents and investors have made billions within months
mostly by misleading the people. This housing society outrage
is feared to be as big as we had the cooperatives scam in the
past. While this loot sale of unauthorized plots continues right
under the nose of the federal government, the top investigating
agencies like national accountability bureau and federal
investigation agency are fast asleep.
Spokesman of the NAB told this correspondent that though the bureau
was scrutinizing some housing societies’ dealing in Rawalpindi,
it has yet to touch the housing societies of Islamabad. He, however,
added that an owner of a leading Islamabad housing society had
been probed by NAB but in his individual capacity and without
investigating his scheme.
One of the most shocking aspect of this scandal-in-making is that
different federal authorities have already smelled a rat but they
are watching the situation as spectator. Besides well-connected
real estate agents and investors, senior civilian bureaucrats,
some politicians, journalists etc are either directly involved
in this dubious business of loot and plunder or are providing
protection to them.
Certain societies’ managements have also bought the sympathies
of powerful including some rulers by offering party funds and
sponsoring publicity campaigns for them on important occasions.
Top managers of some of these societies when contacted tried to
prove their
respective housing societies as the genuine ones aspiring to get
NOC from the CDA but picking up holes in the dealing of others.
Chairman capital development authority Rauf Chaudhry when contacted
confirmed that except a few, all the housing societies selling
plots to public through newspaper advertisements or otherwise
are doing it illegally and without getting no objection certificate
from the authority.
Chaudhry does not rule out the possibility of a “fraud”
by housing societies that are not yet cleared by the CDA. He informed
that the CDA has already issued warnings to public through media
to desist from purchasing land from those societies, which had
not got the NOC from the authority.
To attract the innocent people the housing societies, which are
registered by the ICT cooperative department, use misleading names
to give an impression as if these societies are the government
societies. Smelling a rat some of the government authorities have
now started distancing themselves from such societies to clear
their name from any upcoming scam.
The government has formally denied that the presidency has anything
to do with “Awan-e-Sadar housing society” that has
already sold innumerable plots to people but without having any
such authorization from the CDA.
Secretary National Assembly Mahmood Saleem told this correspondent
that he has also warned the people through media that the NA sect
would not be responsible for any deal of plots made by the National
Assembly secretariat employees housing society.
Saleem said that he has got the bank account of the NA sectt housing
society, containing Rs 250 million, seized to avoid unnecessary
withdrawal. He said he has already written to the chief commissioner
Islamabad and also the chairman CDA to know the status of the
NA sectt housing society and if it has got the NOC to sell the
plots to public.
Secretary cabinet Nasiruddin Ahmed also disowns the cabinet division
employees housing society and said that the cabinet division had
nothing to do with the society.
One such society- Islamabad cooperative society- is giving advertisement
in newspaper almost everyday offering sale of plots in E-20 and
21 but the chairman CDA told this correspondent that they did
not have any such sector in their master plan. This society has
alone sold thousands of plots during the recent months but without
having any NOC from the CDA or proving to the authority that it
has acquired required land.
This dubious business is so successful these days that some of
the societies are selling plots on files in Fateh Jang, Attock
of Punjab but telling the buyers that the area is all in Islamabad
as it surrounds the future Islamabad airport in Fateh Jang.
The CDA chairman says that the authority has nothing to do with
land in Fateh Jang being sold as Islamabad’s extension.
According to a source the ICT cooperative department, which register
the housing societies, had even registered some societies that
have nothing to do with Islamabad.
The big question remains is there any housing society presently
selling the plots to public fulfilling the above conditions. If
not why the authorities are keeping a criminal mum?
