NAB chief takes notice of illegal land allotment in Gwadar

ISLAMABAD: Chairman National Accountability Bureau Justice (R) Javed Iqbal on Tuesday sought report from DG NAB Balochistan of alleged illegal allotment of commercial land and industrial land allotted in Gwadar Industrial Estate Development Authority (GIEDA), Balochistan in violations of rules thus causing billions of rupees loss to the Balochistan government.

The chairman NAB took notice of the alleged complaint and ordered inquiry into an alleged multi-billion scam featuring illegal land allotment in Gwadar, after reports of private individuals being allotted 3167 acres of state land worth Rs70 billion in the port city.

The alleged illegal allotment of commercial and industrial land in Gwadar Industrial Estate Development Authority, Balochistan and GIEDA put the development of Balochistan on stake; instead of being an industrial development authority, GIEDA turned into an estate agency as per report.

During the initial scrutiny of record, it has transpired that the rules had totally been ignored by Gwadar Industrial Estate Development Authority (GIEDA) while allotting commercial and industrial plots. The plots were distributed among favorites and relatives with the help of facilitators.

Furthermore, the files of industrial plots were sold on the basis of personal likes and dislikes by rejecting the applications of eligible industrialists and potential investors. After the scam was exposed, however, the land was restored in favour of Balochistan government. Keeping in view, the chairman NAB sought complete report of allotment of commercial and industrial land in Gwadar Industrial Development Authority, Balochistan with 15 days.