Business community, Islamabad’s residents call for abolishing dual office of CDA Chairman
After Tuesday night’s rains, the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Interchange once again developed cracks causing inconvenience to the motorists and bikers.
The cracks were so deep that a number of motorcyclists lost control of their bikes and slipped along the pavement. Similarly, commuters also faced problems as they were not expecting sudden jump in the middle of the road and narrowly escaped fatal accidents.
Last month too, a link road of the Interchange collapsed after heavy rains and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had to suspend traffic for one day to repair the road.
After the problem was noticed, a spokesperson of the civic agency had claimed in July that the malfunctioning would not recur but all those claims dashed down to ground after the recent rains and commuters, mostly government employees, office workers and students confronted the deep crevice in the main road heading towards the F-10 Sector and the E-8 Naval Complex.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan Interchange was completed within 84 days (less than three months) and was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in February this year. However, since its opening, the Interchange is developing cracks, crevices and malfunctioning and the facility that was supposed to ease traffic is causing inconvenience and breakdowns of the vehicles.
While responding to the failure of the CDA to make the Interchange fault-free, business community and residents of Islamabad have urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take notice of the situation and hold the officers/contractors responsible of this malfunctioning accountable. It is in the interest of the city and its residents that the offices of CDA Chairman and Chief Commissioner of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) should be separated, said they during a survey by Pakistan Observer on Wednesday. The CDA Chairman despite all his good intentions and motivation cannot deliver owing to his dual role, said a businessman and member of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) on condition of anonymity.
The dual role, where one person serves as both Chairman of CDA and Chief Commissioner of Islamabad also raises the question of ‘conflict of interests’ and a hindrance to effective governance, he further said.
A resident of the G-9/4 Khalid Iqbal who has to travel the flyover of the Interchange daily, said it is time the Prime Minister should take action and make the residents of Islamabad realize that their grievances are being addressed.
The separation would allow for dedicated leadership in both CDA and the ICT (Islamabad Capital Territory) administration, potentially improving efficiency and accountability in both institutions, he said.
