Questions Mount Over Alleged Rs200m Plot Allotments in I-12
Inquiry centres on 10 plots in Sector I-12/4 reportedly allotted to heirs of a landowner who had already received compensation land in Punjab, as CDA examines the role of officials involved in processing the cases.
ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority has launched a formal inquiry into the allotment of 10 residential plots in Sector I-12/4 after an internal examination raised questions over whether the beneficiaries were entitled to receive the Islamabad plots in the first place.
CDA Member Estate Muhammad Zaman Wattoo, who is officially listed by the authority as its Member Estate, has confirmed that an inquiry is underway into the allotments and that the role of CDA officers and officials involved in processing the cases is being determined.
10 Plots Under Investigation
According to current reports, the case concerns 10 plots measuring 30×60 feet each in I-12/4. The plots were reportedly allotted through the CDA’s Land Directorate to the legal heirs of a deceased landowner. The emerging issue is that the landowner had allegedly already received land in Tehsil Jalalpur Pirwala, Multan, against his earlier entitlement, potentially affecting eligibility for a second compensation-based allotment in Islamabad.
Sources cited in the reporting said the earlier compensation had allegedly not been reflected during the processing of the I-12 allotments. The CDA inquiry is now examining how the cases were processed, which officials were posted in the relevant positions at the time and whether required checks were carried out before the plots were allotted. One CDA official placed the allotment period around 2017-18, although the inquiry has yet to issue final findings.
Wattoo confirmed that 10 plots had been allotted to persons linked to a case where land had already been provided in Punjab, while saying the authority was still determining the role of its officials. He declined to disclose further details while the investigation remained in progress.
Another report citing a CDA note sheet said the inquiry began during scrutiny of relevant files and was subsequently expanded to verify the previous land allotment in Multan and identify officials who handled the Islamabad cases. The report said the authority was examining posting records of officers who served in the Land and Rehabilitation Directorate during the relevant period.
Wider Scrutiny of CDA Land Records
The case comes against a wider backdrop of concerns over the integrity of CDA land and compensation records. In a separate, continuing matter, approximately 240 plot files have been reported missing from the authority’s land records. The latest reporting says records relating to about 50 of those files have been traced, while scrutiny continues. Those missing-file cases are a separate inquiry and should not automatically be treated as connected to the current I-12 investigation.
Earlier this year, the CDA also halted transfers of 22 allotted plots and the processing of around 60 more in Sector D-13 after questions arose over another land-compensation case. Separately, inquiries have been ordered into allotments in D-13, E-13 and F-13, indicating that scrutiny of compensation-based plot allocations has become a broader governance issue for the civic agency.
Compensation-Based Allotments Under Review
Under the CDA’s land framework, some plots are sold through auction, while others are allotted as compensation to people whose land was acquired for Islamabad’s development. It is this second category — compensation-based allotments — that has repeatedly generated complex questions involving historical land records, inheritance claims, earlier compensation and verification of entitlement.
The latest I-12 inquiry remains at the fact-finding stage. No final responsibility has yet been fixed on any officer, official or beneficiary, and any determination regarding wrongdoing will depend on the completion of the CDA inquiry and any subsequent proceedings by competent authorities.
Islamabad Tribune also found that the claim circulating on social media describing “12 plots worth Rs200 million” is not presently supported by the detailed public reports reviewed. Both current reports refer to 10 plots, while no official Rs200 million valuation was located.
