NAB launches probe into CDA’s Park Enclave scam

ISLAMABAD: Though after keeping hundreds of victims waiting for so many years, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) finally took notice of Park Enclave fraud of Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Thursday for advertising and collecting billions of rupees from citizens in the name of this housing project while not having possession of land.

NAB announced through an official release that its chairman has ordered an inquiry into the complaints against CDA of receiving billions of rupees from citizens and overseas Pakistanis for a housing project “Park Enclave”, spending tens of millions on its advertisement despite the fact that the development authority of the federal capital didn’t have the possession of the land at the time of announcement of the project and couldn’t deliver plots to buyers despite collecting billions from them. NAB press release said that this act is tantamount to a serious joke with the citizens and is misuse of power and authority by the officials of the CDA.

The basic allegation is that the CDA while announcing the project and collecting billions from the citizens didn’t have the possession of the land. In fact, CDA didn’t even have any land while announcing phase-II of the project - what to talk about possession.

According to the details, CDA suddenly announced a housing project back in 2011 in a zone of the federal capital where there was no proper residential area before that. As this place was very close to the main city, many citizens got ready to invest despite of the fact that CDA kept the price of one plot of one kanal at 1 caror and 20 lac (Rs12 million). Only 14 days after the CDA announcement, private housing societies also announced their housing projects in the same area on half price and got successful as CDA suddenly become dysfunctional. The announcement of the housing projects by private housing societies in this zone became justified as CDA has itself announced its housing project there. Private housing societies succeeded in getting possession of land with the help of CDA and earned billions of rupees but CDA never even tried to get the possession of the land.

CDA never has the possession of the land for Park Enclave and some attempts were only made after media repeatedly highlighted the scandal. During this process of making failed attempts to get possession of the land, CDA went to the extent of announcing two other phases i.e. Phase-I extension and Phase-II of Park Enclave.

Now CDA response to queries from media is always this that 92% work of Park Enclave has been done which is absolutely wrong. CDA, after continuous reporting of scandal in the media, managed to get possession of 92% land of Phase-I only while it has no land whatsoever for the Phase-II. When CDA officials are specifically asked about this, they admit that land for Phase-II didn’t even exist.

A victim citizen, Wing Commander (R) Najeeb while talking to The News questioned that how any housing society can announce a housing project without having ‘title’ and ‘possession’ of land required for the number of plots. He said that in this case this fraud was committed by the government department and that too federal capital’s development authority. He said that he is a victim of Phase-I of the Park Enclave and some of his family members and friends are victims of Phase-I extension and Phase-II fraud.