CDA fires 107 officers for being corrupt

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has fired 107 officers, from grade 19 to 16, because they were accused of corruption, abusing their power, and trying to sway departmental investigations. This is part of the CDA’s effort to stop corruption and bad behavior in the government.

Reliable sources say that these officers had been under investigation for a long time for being involved in corruption scandals and for working with inquiry officers to change ongoing investigations so they wouldn’t have to answer for their actions.

Some people were accused of giving and getting “clean chits” through mutual agreements.

Three months ago, CDA Chairman and Chief Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa secretly told the Member Administration to make a list of officers who were being investigated or who had bad reputations, and it had to be based only on merit.

According to reports, the chairman said that any bias, favoritism, or victimization in making the list would lead to disciplinary action against the officials involved.

The Member Administration finished the process in three months after following these steps. Chairman Randhawa later called the project “Operation Clean-Up” and promised to get rid of “black sheep” in the CDA at any cost.

The chairman also said that in the next few days, more corrupt officers and officials would be taken out of important jobs.

Sources said that many of these high-ranking officers had held important positions for years, creating a powerful internal network that allegedly got in the way of normal public business so they could make money through their subordinates.

Randhawa has said that if any officer or official is caught making things harder for citizens who are doing their jobs, they will not only be fired, but they will also lose their retirement benefits.

The CDA’s legal department has been told to actively pursue all related cases in court. They also plan to hire more skilled lawyers to make it even stronger. Randhawa said that those who were found guilty would be punished in a way that would stop corruption in the authority.

Several high-ranking officials are among the 107 officers who were fired. These include Grade-19 Director Law Abdul Hakeem Berrero, Director of Training Academy and Labour Director Mumtaz Ali Sher, Director Enforcement and Admin HR Law, Deputy Director General (Admin HR) of Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad Kashif Shah, Director Civil Rana Tariq Mahmood (who also served as Deputy DG Metro Bus), and Additional Director E&DM and Operations Zafar Iqbal, who was also in charge of the 1122 Emergency Services.