Once upon a time, what is today the Nation’s Capital, Islamabad, was a lush green sub-mountainous valley. The landholdings of hardy farmers were small but these were their only means of livelihood. But that was in the past; today Islamabad is a cosmopolitan city with posh government offices, palatial residences, upscale markets and bustling bazaars, leaving no trace of its ‘how-green-was-my-valley’ past – except for a few old graveyards and some original owners now residing in its shanty slums. If all of it sounds so surreal what then is even more painful is a recall to the fate of those who were allotted plots in various sectors, but have not been given possession even after three decades.
Take the case of E-12. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) had allotted plots in this sector in the late 1980s but possession has yet to be given. Hundreds of original owners have since passed away, says a newspaper report. And it is not E-12 only that has not been handed over to the owners. In about a dozen other sectors, the state of affairs is not very different. There too the allottees are waiting for possession. Unfortunately, however, there is no plausible explanation about how and why this unsavoury situation. Is it true then that the scheme is let owners suffer, and compel them to sell the ownership files through property agents and take share from the agent’s commission. That is just one shade CDA-agent ugly collusion. The other besets the original owners who were allotted alternate plots. These plots exist in files and not on ground, and therefore no possession. And as their bad luck would have it the practice of giving alternate plots to the owners of the acquired land too has been suspended now. And reimbursement of monetary compensation promised at the time of dispossessing them too is a nerve-testing ordeal. No wonder then the owners of land, acquired to accommodate a private housing society of lawyers and bureaucrats, recently, staged a protest before the Islamabad Press Club. There is no feedback if it helped them.
According to existing law, only the Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF) can acquire land and that too only for the government. But it has acquired their land for a private society - that society believed to be too powerful to be refused. And to add to the villagers’ misfortune, the compensation promised to them ridiculously low - it is not even half of the market price of land. The dilemma gets further compounded by reports that the said housing society doesn’t have enough cash to reimburse even that low cost. Aren’t we then heading towards another clash between the land collectors and the presumed sellers?
The question is why the FGEHF has failed in its mandated responsibility to give the nation a capital aptly matching its name? Islam prohibits use of force to confiscate others’ property, and that too without proper compensation. Rightly then, for the proponents of ‘Naya Pakistan’, the task has been cut. Opening Governor’s Houses for public to visit is no ‘change’, but the optics. The harsh ground realities should be squarely confronted and overcome. Let someone in the new government tell us when the allottees of plots in various sectors would get possession of plots they paid for years ago. And let someone tell us who overlooked the mandatory provision that none of the government agencies can acquire land for a private housing society. Remember the taste and not the appearance determines the quality of the pudding.
