Zubair Qureshi
A meeting of the sub-committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior was told by the officials of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) that Ehsaas Rehriban programme was still intact and there were no orders issued by the administration to remove or close the programme. The Senate’s body that met at the Parliament House was chaired by Senator Moula Bux Chandio. The primary agenda of the meeting was to investigate the closure of the Ehsaas Rehriban programme and the closure of stalls belonging to valid license holders by the Capital Development Authority (CDA).
The CDA officials emphasized that no action was taken against the valid license holders operating under the programme. The officials also mentioned that a site verification report would be conducted to further clarify this position. However, the CDA is obligated, as per the master plan of Islamabad, to remove encroachments in the capital city with the support of the ICT Administration and ICT Police and CDA has taken action against only those stalls/vendors which violated the set rules and were involved in illegal encroachment, they further said.
With regard to payment of compensation for the loss suffered by licensed vendors due to the actions of the CDA, it was briefed that a detailed survey will be conducted to identify whether any valid license holder stalls have been demolished illegally. Such license holders will be compensated according to the applicable rules and regulations. Furthermore, the CDA has identified four new locations in Islamabad for Sasta Bazaars, where these affected licensees, if any, will be given preference. It was further informed that an advertisement has already been published in newspapers for the establishment of 3,000 new stalls within these 4 proposed sasta bazars.
