ISLAMABAD: More than 250 pending inquiries against officials of the Islamabad’s Capital Development Authority (CDA) have come under the focus of the civic agency’s chairman, who has set a one-month deadline for their completion.
According to reports, the inquiries relate to different directorates, including land and estate, which deal with residential and commercial plots. Some officials are facing multiple cases, but most inquiries have been delayed for years.
CDA Chairman Mohammad Ali Randhawa said he has taken strict notice of the matter and directed all inquiry officers to complete fact-finding cases within one month.
“Pending inquiries are a chronic issue. Now I am personally monitoring the progress. Action will be taken against anyone found guilty, and officers causing unnecessary delay may also face action,” he said.
Out of the 269 pending inquiries, 150 are fact-finding and 119 are formal. The highest number of inquiries—93 fact-finding and 43 formal—belong to the estate wing, followed by 38 in the engineering wing and 35 in the environment wing.
Officials told the chairman in a recent meeting that during the last five years, 1,003 inquiries had been finalised. Of these, 119 officials faced major penalties, 668 received minor penalties, and 229 were cleared of charges. This year alone, 65 inquiries have been completed.
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Last month, the Senate was informed that 111 CDA officials had been involved in corruption cases over the past 10 years.
Interior Minister, in a written reply to a question from Senator Jan Mohammad, said that while many officers had been punished through dismissal, compulsory retirement, or demotion, some officials with pending charges were still serving in the CDA. However, they had been removed from sensitive positions.
The minister also said that to improve transparency, CDA has made the use of Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules and the E-PADS online system mandatory for procurement, tendering, and auctions.
The Directorate of Procurement and Contracts has been restructured, and all land records have been digitised with the help of Punjab Land Record Authority (PLRA).
