Desired CDA land-allotment certificate forensics

Islamabad: According to news reports, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has asked the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) to carry out a forensic audit of eligibility certificates (ECs) issued by the authority for land allotment in the colony district of Punjab between 1960 and 1986 as compensation to landowners whose property was taken in Islamabad.

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Many stories regarding landowners giving up their ECs to get agro farms in the capital city led the CDA, according to its sources, to resolve to have these ECs examined. The authorities wrote the letter to the AGP office on Monday. According to the letter, after the EC was cancelled, a number of EC recipients turned in their certificates and were given residential plots or farms by CDA in accordance with clause 7(2) of the Islamabad Displaced People Rehabilitation Policy 1996.

The CDA compensated residents by allocating plots against the acquired land and built-up property in addition to issuing ECs for land in colony districts. According to the authority’s letter to AGP, individual grants were used to purchase land totaling 304.62 kilometers. The CDA has awarded up to 527 prizes for land it has bought, compared to 158 awards for built-up structures.