ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court IHC) chief justice Athar Minallah, on Thursday, observed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) act of changing the status and title a commercial plot to a hotel category arbitrarily was a gravely serious case of public interest and the court will hear it on priority basis. The judge also observed that the CDA, being a development authority, should not take any step or decision unilaterally, which inter alia could damage trust of the investors.
The chief justice’s remarks on CDA unilateral act of changing a commercial plot of the new Blue Area Islamabad into a hotel category came during hearing into a petition filed by M/s MARSS, a developer which had won a plot of a hotel for Rs 2.03 billion through CDA auction in the same area and site in July this year.
The petitioner, M/s MARSS, said in its petition that after being declared as a successful bidder by CDA it followed all rules and procedures and of the authority and paid it over Rs 520 million as the first installment of the plot along with the applicable taxes. It also is eagerly working on the project to build a hotel at the plot site of an international standard to provide quality hotel facility to the clients, besides making payment of the remaining amount to CDA as per prescribed schedule.
It added, however, with a gap of around two months, CDA has issued brochure for auction scheduled to be held from September 21 to September 23, 2020 wherein it changed status a leftover commercial plot of the last auction to a hotel category which tantamount to hurt its business plan.
CDA as per its brochure of July auction had included the plot no 21 of Islamabad New Blue Area, measuring over 10000 square yards which clearly showed it as a commercial plot.
Now when CDA is going for another round of auction for the same Islamabad New Blue Area, it has unilaterally bifurcated the plot, in question before IHC, into two parts and one of it is being offered as a hotel plot.
The decision of CDA to bifurcate the plot and change status of its one part from commercial to hotel category is severe violation of the rules and regulations of the authority itself. The authority cannot change status and category of any plot in any case and under any circumstance if it compromises the national interest and at the same time it hurts the trust of the investors.
CDA act of changing category of plot 21 from commercial to hotel category is hardly understandable and it will also be difficult for it to prove in the court that the decision of bifurcation of controversial plot and changing it to hotel category has been taken in the national interest. The court will definitely look into the rates offered by the bidders for commercial plots in the last auction and also of rates at which the only hotel plot was awarded to the petitioner in July’s auction.
CDA record shows it got over Rs 1.5 million price per square yard for commercial plots in the same site and location in July’s auction this year. Whereas, the plot of a hotel awarded to the petitioner got only Rs 0.3 million per square yard price.
IHC chief justice had hinted it during Thursday’s hearing that the change of a commercial plot which could get at least three times higher offer than offering it as a hotel category relatively one fifth of original price will become a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) case.
The petitioner prayed to the court for suspension of auction and order for the maintenance of status quo to the extent of specific plot no 21-A (Hotel plot) scheduled for September 21, 2020.
Meanwhile, the petitioner has also sent a legal notice to the CDA chairman on the matter in question.
After hearing the argument of the counsel of the petitioner, IHC chief justice issued notice to CDA for September 18, 2020 (today)
