Now land for jail, at an exorbitant price
05 November, 2009
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s desire to have a model prison in Islamabad is being turned into an opportunity to multiply fortunes by a nexus of government officials and the land mafia. Background interaction reveals things are being pushed in a dubious manner with certain relevant authorities expressing their dissatisfaction: both over the selection of land — 1,000 kanals — and over its price, which is considered higher than the market price of the same land. A committee constituted to select the site for the Islamabad model jail in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) has hardly met and decided anything, but it was conveyed to the interior secretary a few months ago that the committee unanimously selected a site for the construction of the prison at Malot village, located in the northeast and at a distance of 20-25km from the federal capital. However, some of the members confirmed to this correspondent the committee had never met. They also insisted on knowing nothing about the price but confirmed that there are too many dubious things going on in this matter that required an independent probe. The Islamabad chief commissioner, who is the chairman of the committee, when approached, said the committee did select a site but did not assess the price of the land. He said the additional deputy commissioner (revenue) Islamabad was the person to have evaluated the price. The ADC(R) is generally considered to be a close confidant of the chief commissioner. Sources said the proposed site is located at a distance of 20-22 kilometres from the baseline, G-10, where district courts of the federal capital would be constructed. The source insisted the price of the land is far less than what is reflected by the authorities. In the interior ministry’s document, its price is shown as Rs1,000,000 to Rs1,100,000 per kanal. The source said an independent developer confirmed that the average price of the land in Malot village is around Rs400,000 to Rs500,000 per kanal. They explained the land located right on the road is expensive but as you go deep and away from the road its price goes less and less. In his letter No:1(81)Dev/06 dated 20-06-2009 and addressed to the interior secretary, the chief commissioner recommended Malot as his priority site for the construction of jail. Initially, it was said the land was being purchased there because it had only one owner but later it was discovered, though behind-the-scene there is only one man, on papers they were several. Sources said this behind-the-scene man enjoys extraordinary cooperation of some government officials to finalise the deal. In indecent haste, even the PC-I of the project was sent to the planning commission, but it was returned with some objections. The land would cost more than Rs1 billion alone. The chief commissioner-led committee includes district and sessions judge, Islamabad; inspector general of police, Islamabad; CDA chairman; and Islamabad deputy commissioner. According to sources, most of the members of the committee are neither satisfied with the proposed jail site nor with the price offered. Most of them also do not remember any committee meeting, which recommended Malot land deal, though some of them do recall a meeting held in the interior ministry where some of the committee members were invited to endorse the same site. Some important players in the interior ministry, sources said, are also keenly pursuing the Malot option. The interior ministry spokesman was, however, not available to talk to our sources about the serious questions being raised about this purchase. For the last several weeks, the interior ministry’s spokesman and even its secretary have been ignoring the repeated requests to respond to the queries pertaining to their ministry. Though the interior ministry was not available for comment, information furnished by the ministry to the National Assembly reads: “The interior secretary unanimously finalised the site situated at Malot village, Islamabad for establishment of a model prison in ICT on the following grounds: 1) location: it is in the northeast of Sector G-10 and southeast of Bharakau village and southwest of Pind Begwal; 2) road network: Rawal dam Chowk, Chak Shahzad and Kuri road; 3) distance from the baseline (baseline is G-10, the proposed site for district courts) 20-22kms; 4) availability of land: 1,219 kanals; 5) number of owners: eight; 6) built-up structures: nil; 7) market price 10-11 lacs per kanal; 8) availability of water: ground water available; 9) gas: gas pipeline 3-5 kms away; 10) electricity: available; 11) prospects for future expansion: provision of future expansion is there and there is no built-up structures in the immediate vicinity of the proposed site. End.
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