‘Victims’ of Malik Riaz look up to army chief
Imran Ali TeepuJune 10, 2012
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General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. — File photo
ISLAMABAD, June 10: Army officials and retired junior commissioned officers, who claim to have suffered at the hands of Malik Riaz, are hoping that Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani will heed their appeals for the return of their hard earned savings.
They had invested this money into the DHA Valley. A retired army officer, Col (retired) Mohammad Akhtar, told Dawn that Gen Kayani should address the concerns of retired JCOs and the families of martyrs since “the loss of their money and land in these tough economic times is not easy.”
“I have served in the artillery corps and am now living in a middle-class neighbourhood of the city. I spent my retirement package on the DHA Valley scheme but today I have no plot and no money,” said Col (retired) Akhtar.
“I have been part of the army’s regular service in the Sialkot sector after the 1971 war. My brother, Flt Lt Malik Murtaza, lost his life in the same war,” he added.
Col (retired) Tariq Kamal, an officer who has served in DHA as director Urban Planning, recently told Dawn: “Those who got cheated in DHA Valley scam include 110,000 civilians, 41,000 serving and retired military officers, jawans and families of martyrs.”
Col Kamal, a former DHA official who is now trying to get justice for all those who invested in a plot in the Valley Scheme, told Dawn that the DHA had announced the housing scheme in 2009.
“The DHA Valley comprised small-sized plots to help those who could not afford a house in the regular DHA societies where the plot sizes tended to be bigger.
“Most DHA plots are one kanal or more,” he added, “though in a few cities we have small plots that are about 300 square yards.”
Col Akhtar remembers that when the announcement was made in newspapers, the scheme proved so popular that the application forms were in short supply.
“Though they were free, I had to buy the forms from a property dealer for Rs2,000 each in 2009,” he said.
However, after the money poured in, DHA made a deal with Malik Riaz and transferred around Rs62 billion to the latter “against the advice of DHAI legal advisers Ahmer Bilal Soofi & Co.”
The amount was earned from the sale of all the planned plots in the valley.
Since then the housing scheme never saw the light of day.
Providing details about the scheme, Col Akhtar said plots measuring 150 square yards and 240 square yards were offered to retired officers such as JCOs and families of martyred soldiers since these smaller parcels of land were more affordable.
“The cost was Rs100,000 per 30 square yard,” he added.
Located in Zone-V of the capital city, the DHA Valley project was to be some distance from DHA-II.
However, three years after it was announced, the area where the proposed society was to be located is barren land. No development has taken place there.
According to Col Kamal, “For DHA Valley around 80,000 kanal of land is required in total and this acquisition was never completed.”
And those who thought that the scheme would provide them their retirement home have lost their money.
Dejected and hurt, Col Akhtar asked rhetorically who would return his Rs800,000 to him. This is the amount he had invested in the project in 2009.
“I have approached local property dealers but they say you will only get Rs200,000 since the plots are non-existent and only files are available,” he told Dawn.
Asked whether he had approached senior military officials or Gen Kayani himself, he said: “What I do know is that a few senior officers did inform him about the fraud that had affected thousands of retired armymen. I was given the hope that there might be some movement to help us.”
“I request Gen Kayani to investigate the matter; fix responsibility and return our hard earned savings. I am a retired colonel and the lost amount is causing me difficulties. Imagine what a retired Subedar or the family of a Sepoy would be going through,” he added.
When approached, the public relations officer of Bahria Town, Ms Nida said: “I have already told you that I have no clue about the issue. I can only give you a version by Monday since no official is in contact with me at the moment.”
When the army’s media department, the ISPR, was contacted by Dawn, an official said: “We will get back to you after getting an input from the officials concerned.”
However, till filing of this story no official statement came from the army.
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Bahria Town Lahore’s sectors D, E and F still controversial
By Admin June 5, 2013, 6:12 pm
Bahria Town,
Sector-E
The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) has said that Bahria Town’s sectors D, E and F are still controversial as these are not approved by the competent authority and the people have invested money at their own risk despite public information campaign by the authority.
LDA Metropolitan Planning officers Tuesday told Daily Times that the Bahria Town administration’s representatives visited the LDA offices along with written response to the show-cause notices served on the housing society by LDA, however, the reasons given in their response were invalid and inappropriate and did not provide a justification to by-pass the rules and regulations.
He said the issue of the three extended sectors in Bahria Town, owned by property tycoon Malik Riaz, on Link Canal Road near Mohlanwal, is still the same ‘unapproved’. These sectors are not under the legal cover and plots being sold there are illegal under the law. Another director of LDA said under section 18 (2) of the Private Housing Scheme and Land Subdivision Rules-2010 the sale of plots in any schemes was prohibited until final approval is taken from the competent authority. He said Lahore Metropolitan Planning was the competent authority and no approval has been taken so far from it.
When asked about the people who have already purchased plots in the controversial sectors investing their hard-earned money, he said the LDA has formally informed the people through its advertisements in newspapers and display of banners at prominent places in the city. “If people are still purchasing plots, they are at their own risk we have fulfilled our responsibility. He said many schemes are deceiving and depriving innocent citizens of their hard-earned money, therefore it was the responsibility of the purchasers to get proper information from LDA offices before investing their money.”
It is noteworthy that LDA took out an advertisement in newspapers in February titled “Buyers—Beware of Purchasing Plots: In Sectors D, E& Fond Phase-2 of Bahria Town Lahore” The advert read: “The public is hereby made aware of the ongoing advertising campaign by the management of Bahria Town, Lahore, for alluring the buyers for purchasing plots, carved a~: on land for which approval had not been sought from the Competent Authority. The factual position about these schemes is as under: Sectors D and E of Bahria Town, Lahore, have not been got approved by the Competent Authority. Similarly Sector F has also not been got approved by the Competent Authority where plots are being illegally marketed these days through media.
“Lahore Development Authority is fully authorised to demolish such illegal development works under Clause 40 of the LDA Act. 1975. Further, the sponsors also liable to be punished for fine a imprisonment, under Clauses 33 & 38 of the LDA Act, 1975.” Bahria Town Media Manager Nida Zahoor was not available for her comments. The Bahria Town administration claims to have its sector A, B and C approved by the Allama Iqbal Town Municipal Administration. Through advertisements, it also declares its sectors D and E completely developed projects for which it claims to have submitted applications to the respective TMA (Iqbal Town). It, however, declares its sector-F project under planning process. The LDA administration also claimed that LDA advertisement campaign against it was politically motivated. However, LDA Director General Ahad Khan Cheema has already clarified that the LDA has not taken action against Bahria Town at the behest of any political party but for the public interest and to get their law implemented.
Daily Times
