CDA to revamp its Planning Wing.

Byline: MUHAMMAD ASAD CHAUDHRY

ISLAMABAD -- The city managers once again announced on Wednesday that the understaffed Planning Wing would be revamped by inducting new qualified and technical experts.

It was decided in a meeting held here at the CDA headquarters but circles concerned are not taking the move seriously as the top management had earlier declared to promote dozens of officers in their next due grades without any further delay but it has been failed to materialise the claims so far.

The Planning Wing is the backbone of CDA but it remained understaffed and is facing performance challenges. For instance, the DG Design, Hafiz Ahsan-ul-Haq, is holding look after charge of the Member Planning for the last several months but he is avoiding to take policy decisions.

Sources informed that he openly asks in official meetings that he is not a permanent Member Planning so he cannot take important decisions.

The Member Planning is the head of Planning Wing with 2 director generals, 3 deputy director generals, 17 directors and 4 deputy directors.

But all major directorates including urban planning, regional planning, housing societies, master plan, building control-I and building control-II are being run on ad-hoc basis by appointing grade-18 officers on current charge basis when they all are entitled to their promotions.

Though realising the importance of matter, the incumbent management of the authority has decided to introduce reforms in the Planning Wing but its seriousness in this regard would be gauged in coming days.

It is not the first time when the city managers are claiming to revamp the planning wing but the previous management had also sought relaxation in a ban imposed on recruitments by the government.

In response, the Establishment Division had given a go ahead to the civic body for fresh recruitments but the bureaucratic impediments halted the move and said relaxation of six months given...