CDA offers monthly rent to Margalla Towers’ affectees
By Adnan Rafique

ISLAMABAD—The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has offered to pay monthly rent to people displaced from Margalla Towers to enable them to acquire alternate accommodation, a senior CDA official said Wednesday.
The offer comes while Supreme Court is currently dealing with the case and at the last hearing on Friday it directed the CDA to arrange accommodation for the affected people. If the CDA and the affected people reach a consensus formula it would be submitted to the court, CDA Member Finance Kamran Ali Qureshi told reporters.
He said the CDA was ready to pay monthly rent in line with the market rate of flats hired in other plazas in Islamabad's posh sectors.
A three-member CDA committee held a detailed meeting Wednesday with chief coordinator of the displaced people's association Sultan Mehmood and another representative Asim Masood Chaudhry.
Both the parties unanimously nominated president of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry Abdul Rauf as mediator to resolve the issue, Kamran Qureshi said. The rental value will be decided in accordance with the average of rent of flats in Mustafa Towers, Park Towers and Royal Enclosure in the federal capital, he said.
Kamran Qureshi said the affected people demanded Rs 1,25,000 as monthly rent, which according to him only foreigners were paying in dollars while the local occupants were paying almost half of that.
The 40 per cent of the people displaced from Margalla Towers were owners of the flats while the rest were living on rent and only those among the latter who had paid advance rent would be considered for payment of rent by CDA, he said.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has ordered an inquiry into the collapse of the Margalla blocks as a result of the October 8earthquake. Meanwhile, the CDA announced Wednesday that the computer balloting for the plots and flats in I-15 sector would be held onNovember 15.
Earlier, the computer balloting was scheduled for November one, but was postponed. There are 5,500 plots of three different categories and 8,000 flats in the I-15 sector. Almost 2,25,000 applicants have applied for allotment. .