JIT Seeks Independent Body to Run Islamabad Master Plan
A Joint Investigation Team probing the One Constitution Avenue scam has recommended an independent commission to oversee the Islamabad master plan, saying the Capital Development Authority should no longer control the city’s blueprint on its own.
The JIT report, approved by the federal cabinet, calls for a statutory Master Plan Commission made up of town planners, environmentalists and civil society representatives. It also recommends a full overhaul of the CDA ordinance to build in transparency, e-governance and accountability.
The city’s original planners said the master plan should be revised every 20 years. Yet no government has ever completed a full revision. Instead, successive governments, including the current one, have made more than 52 selective changes through the federal government. Those piecemeal amendments, and the long delay, have left the capital with serious planning problems.
What the JIT found
The report points to deep structural and governance flaws inside the CDA. It says the authority needs complete digitisation of all files, allotment records, sub-leases and no-objection certificates. Allotments, transfers and building plans should be processed through an online portal, the report says, so that manipulation at the final stage and overnight decisions become impossible.
Discretionary powers at the CDA must be abolished, according to the report. It adds that no officer should remain in lucrative wings, including Estate, Planning, Enforcement and Building Control, for more than two years.
Many CDA officials have served in these wings for years, and a large number still work in the Building Control Directorate. Officers who join on deputation often try to secure postings in the Estate, Commercial, Land and Building Control directorates.
Enforcement, auctions and whistleblowers
The JIT also wants commercial auctions, allotments and contracts to undergo pre-audits by third-party firms before they are finalised. The Enforcement Directorate, it says, must become a neutral force with body cameras and standard operating procedures.
Before any change in land use, commercialisation or auction of amenity plots, public hearings and environmental impact assessments must be mandatory, the report states. It also calls for a well-organised citizen facilitation centre along the lines of Nadra, so that residents can deal with the authority without depending on individual officers.
Officers and staff who report illegalities should be protected and rewarded, the report adds. The authority has demolished encroachments in the capital before, yet its enforcement drives have often drawn complaints of selective action.
The officer who sealed the building
The report recalls the case of Shafi Marwat, the officer who first took the initiative to seal One Constitution Avenue in 2016, when he served in the Directorate of Building Control. Over the past year, Marwat has faced difficulties. Without any charge against him, he was directed last year to report to the Human Resource Department. Sources in the CDA said that after waiting for several months, the dejected officer opted to go on leave.
From scam probe to five-star hotel
On the basis of the JIT report, the federal government and the CDA decided to take back control of the One Constitution Avenue building, which stands on a CDA plot, over alleged lease defaults and fraud. The building is now intended to become a five-star hotel. A meeting at the CDA headquarters on Thursday explored options for engaging a reputed hotel chain.
The hotel plan shows how far the case has travelled. What began as a lease dispute over a prime plot on Constitution Avenue has now produced a set of recommendations that could reshape how the capital is governed.
Why the Islamabad master plan matters
The master plan is not an abstract document. It decides where homes, markets, parks and offices can be built, and which plots stay green. When changes are made one by one, without a full review, the city grows in ways its planners never intended. Traffic chokes, green areas shrink, and commercial use creeps into residential sectors.
An independent body, with planners and citizens at the table, would be harder to steer towards individual interests, and public hearings would give residents a say before decisions are locked in. The CDA’s enforcement record shows why that matters: the authority has demolished encroachments in the capital before, yet its drives have often drawn complaints of selective action.
Islamabad has seen major projects move ahead in recent months, including the inauguration of the Kashmir Chowk underpass. At the same time, civic bodies have faced scrutiny over money matters, as shown by the Rs1.5 billion property tax notice served on IESCO. The JIT report argues that the same discipline should now apply to the CDA itself.
The cabinet has approved the report, but the ordinance overhaul, the digitisation drive and the new commission all need the government to move.
What did the JIT recommend?
The JIT recommended an independent statutory Master Plan Commission for Islamabad, made up of town planners, environmentalists and civil society representatives, along with an overhaul of the CDA ordinance.
Why has Islamabad’s master plan never been revised?
The city’s original planners said the master plan should be revised every 20 years. However, the CDA and the federal government have never completed a full revision, and more than 52 selective changes have been made instead.
What will happen to the One Constitution Avenue building?
The federal government and the CDA have decided to take back control of the building over alleged lease defaults and fraud. It is intended to be converted into a five-star hotel, and the CDA has begun exploring options for a reputed hotel chain.
What changes did the JIT propose for CDA officers?
The report says discretionary powers must end, no officer should stay in lucrative wings for more than two years, and officers who report illegalities should be protected and rewarded.
