ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority has offered the Higher Education Commission 40 acres in Sector I-17 as alternate land for 250 acres the commission bought in Kuri in 2007, in the latest chapter of the CDA HEC land dispute — a swap the HEC has rejected as far short of its original holding.
The offer, reported by Dawn in an update published early on Wednesday, has thrown the HEC’s plans for two public-sector universities back into uncertainty. The commission paid over Rs1 billion for the Kuri land but never received possession after the CDA folded the area into a housing scheme.
The CDA HEC land dispute: a 2007 purchase still without possession
In 2007, the HEC purchased 250 acres in Kuri from the CDA for the University of Engineering, Sciences and Technology and the National University of Law. The payment of over Rs1 billion to the civic agency was meant to secure the future campuses of the two institutions.
Possession never came. The CDA, in a joint venture with the Defence Housing Authority, went on to launch Margalla Enclave, a housing scheme spread over about 18,000 kanals in Kuri. The HEC’s allotted land was absorbed into the project, and the commission’s university plans have been in limbo for nearly two decades.
The issue did not go unnoticed. The Auditor General of Pakistan flagged it years ago, and the Public Accounts Committee took it up in June this year and directed an early resolution. After the PAC’s intervention, the CDA started work on a settlement, but the HEC was surprised by what was placed on the table.
40 acres offered for 250
The CDA has now asked the HEC to accept 40 acres in Sector I-17 in exchange for its 250 acres in Kuri. An HEC official rejected the offer, saying the commission had never asked for I-17 land and questioning how 40 acres could replace the original allocation.
“First they occupied our allotted land,” the official said, demanding that possession of the 250 acres in Kuri be handed over without delay, or else “250 acres anywhere” be allotted to the commission.
Dawn’s report carried a correction: an earlier version had put the CDA’s offer at 25 acres, a figure that also appeared in same-day coverage by Bloom Pakistan. The corrected figure is 40 acres.
Board meeting defers the decision
The proposal was expected to come up at Monday’s CDA board meeting but was deferred to the next one. No fresh date for a decision has been announced.
The deferral stretches a dispute that has outlasted several CDA chairmen and HEC heads. For the two planned universities, each passing year adds to the cost of a project conceived when the land was bought in 2007.
The wider I-17 relocation plan
The I-17 offer fits a wider CDA policy. The CDA board decided in 2025 to shift all government educational institutions out of Kuri and into an institutional sector in I-17, after the Margalla Enclave joint venture closed the Kuri site to campuses. The housing project was formally launched with the DHA in January 2025, and the authority has since been pushing major commercial projects on its land bank.
The HEC’s position is that a policy decision cannot shrink its holding. The commission paid for 250 acres, and it wants 250 acres, whether in Kuri or elsewhere in the capital.
PIDE land settled separately
The CDA board did settle a separate land matter at its meeting. An earlier allotment of land in H-11 to the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics was cancelled, while 17.5 acres allotted in H-16 turned controversial and was not in the CDA’s possession. The board decided to offer PIDE a new 13-acre plot with possession in the same sector, with the price adjusted accordingly.
Frequently asked questions
How much land did the HEC buy in Kuri?
The HEC bought 250 acres in Kuri from the CDA in 2007 for two planned universities, paying over Rs1 billion. It never received possession of the land.
Why is the CDA offering land in I-17?
The CDA launched the Margalla Enclave housing scheme with the DHA on the Kuri land, so it wants to move educational institutions to an institutional sector in I-17 instead.
What is the HEC’s objection?
The HEC says it never asked for I-17 land and that 40 acres cannot replace 250 acres. It wants possession of its Kuri land, or 250 acres elsewhere.
What happens next?
The alternate-land proposal was deferred at the CDA board’s Monday meeting and will be taken up at the next meeting. No date has been announced.
