By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday suspended the allotment of plots to judges, bureaucrats and government employees in the capital’s F-14 and F-15 sectors .
A two-member bench, comprising IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, was hearing a petition filed by property owners in villages Thalla Syedan and Jhangi Syedan in Islamabad district against the acquisition of their land. The chief justice said people from whom the land had been acquired would not be affected by the stay order as they had already been allotted alternate plots.
The estate director, law director and deputy commissioner of the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA), which had allotted the plots after balloting, appeared in the court during the hearing Monday. The DC informed the court that the federal cabinet had formed a committee to look into the matter and present its report to the cabinet.
Upon this, Justice Minallah observed that the court had asked the federal government to explain its policy on the matter. “How did you jump over the people expecting [to be allotted plots] and give them to others?” he questioned. The court was not talking about the affectees but the 31-32,000 members of the federal government who were awaiting plots, he added.
The deputy commissioner answered that plots were also allotted to the judiciary, journalists, lawyers and people from other organisations based on the quota system.
“What is the fault of labourers? Why are they not given plots?” questioned the chief justice. He further asked about the number of members who had not been allotted plots in Islamabad’s sectors F-14 and F-15. “There must be a waiting list. What was the policy? You have also allotted plots to judges who were sacked because of corruption. Is it the policy to encourage corruption?” he asked.
Justice Minallah observed that the federal government has to make a policy on how state land would be distributed, adding that it would have to solve the problem through the report submitted to it by the committee.
