CDA, which was established in 1960, fell short of the mark in its attempts to do what was its job i.e. to build the national capital. A national capital is made up of more than just brick buildings and bridges – it is supposed to fulfill every need of its residents and have parks, recreational facilities, playgrounds, civic amenities, schools, hospitals and stand tall and proud as the most important city of the country.
The journey of Islamabad, from the 60s into the 2010s, has been a difficult one – all thanks to CDA. From a simple city, it has evolved to become a complex one where people find living, travelling and working here increasingly tough. While the capital is divided into elite zones, which mark the boundary where the rich of the country live, there are areas within the city where people are still deprived of the basic necessity of clean drinking water. Zone V is not deemed fit for humans as it remains the most neglected part of the city.
Because of the abysmal performance of the authority, it is the city and the people who are suffering on one hand, whereas on the other hand, it is the whole of the CDA department which never got the luck to be headed by a management that was committed or able to combat the challenges of the capital. It’s the mismanagement and maltreatment of this department by the bureaucrats which pronounced the death of a beautiful city and turned it into a ghetto.
CDA has had some of the worst bosses which exploited the office and its funds. The lack of accountability is the root cause of almost all problems of the CDA. To put a muzzle on the corruption that is eating away at the revenues, the government should set up a competent forum for the selection of chairmanship of the CDA.
