ISLAMABAD PROPERTY,
April 23: The Capital Development Authority (CDA)’s one-window
operation aimed to assist people in speedy disposal of property transfer
cases is anything but one-window facility.
Despite some upgrades like close-circuit television cameras (CCTV), transferring date on to computers and brand new bathrooms, (to give some examples) continued uncontrolled at the one-window section that the civic agency described as its public face.
“You can upgrade systems and go high-tech but it is difficult to change the attitudes of people who dare to accept
money and those who are willingly paying more than the regular fees to jump queues,” said Syed Tahir Shahbaz, the CDA chairman.
He explained how his team was working hard to make things easier for customers at the one-window section.
But not all were willing to pay more than the respective/set government fees to get plans and maps of their houses approved. It took Imran Rafiq six days and Rs2,000 for chai pani on top of whatever the required government fee was to get his file moving to the departments concerned.
“I was told that I got off cheap and that it usually cost a little more,” said Rafiq who had to pay another Rs4,000 to get somebody from the CDA survey department to demarcate his piece of land that he bought to build a house at the D sector of Islamabad Property.
Last Friday, Chaudhry Tanvir was back to the one-window facility for an update on his case a week after submitting his documents. He had to wait for almost an hour.
And it is this physical movement of the file that caused inconvenience and cost people between Rs500 to Rs1,000 over and above the set government fees.
“Getting the file move from the naib qasid to the clerks, assistant directors and directors was the complicated part. In most cases it is the lower staff that makes things problematic for people,” said a senior source in the CDA.
According to the source, the CDA also lost revenue due to the corrupt elements at the one-window facility.
The CDA is dealing with 100,000 files in a month in property-related cases, mostly from the developing sectors like D-12 and I-11. Most of the senior officials are overburdened with 30,000 files with one deputy director, according to a senior estate officer.
He explained how the CDA was also expanding the number of windows also.
According to the CDA chief, encroachments and concerns for sustaining the environment topped his list of priorities.
Despite some upgrades like close-circuit television cameras (CCTV), transferring date on to computers and brand new bathrooms, (to give some examples) continued uncontrolled at the one-window section that the civic agency described as its public face.
“You can upgrade systems and go high-tech but it is difficult to change the attitudes of people who dare to accept
money and those who are willingly paying more than the regular fees to jump queues,” said Syed Tahir Shahbaz, the CDA chairman.
He explained how his team was working hard to make things easier for customers at the one-window section.
But not all were willing to pay more than the respective/set government fees to get plans and maps of their houses approved. It took Imran Rafiq six days and Rs2,000 for chai pani on top of whatever the required government fee was to get his file moving to the departments concerned.
“I was told that I got off cheap and that it usually cost a little more,” said Rafiq who had to pay another Rs4,000 to get somebody from the CDA survey department to demarcate his piece of land that he bought to build a house at the D sector of Islamabad Property.
Last Friday, Chaudhry Tanvir was back to the one-window facility for an update on his case a week after submitting his documents. He had to wait for almost an hour.
And it is this physical movement of the file that caused inconvenience and cost people between Rs500 to Rs1,000 over and above the set government fees.
“Getting the file move from the naib qasid to the clerks, assistant directors and directors was the complicated part. In most cases it is the lower staff that makes things problematic for people,” said a senior source in the CDA.
According to the source, the CDA also lost revenue due to the corrupt elements at the one-window facility.
The CDA is dealing with 100,000 files in a month in property-related cases, mostly from the developing sectors like D-12 and I-11. Most of the senior officials are overburdened with 30,000 files with one deputy director, according to a senior estate officer.
He explained how the CDA was also expanding the number of windows also.
According to the CDA chief, encroachments and concerns for sustaining the environment topped his list of priorities.
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