Problems of the federal capital

The new chairman CDA has his hands full and he has only one pair of hands. He has to fight on many fronts. Soon after its inception the CDA’s forefathers had passed a blueprint under which the federal capital was to be constructed. Unfortunately, the successive governments in this country have been tinkering with it with rare abandon with the result that the original blueprint stands completely mutilated today. The CDA was used by every government worth its salt to bestow favour on its blue eyed boys and one easy way to do so was the allotment of residential plots on a throwaway price or in some cases gratis. In many cases even those localities and areas of the federal capital which had been earmarked for green belts were converted into residential or commercial areas in order to accommodate the demands of those who had connections with those moving in the corridors of power. Small wonder many senior officers who had served as chairmen of the CDA are today behind the bars facing criminal cases of various sorts.
The new federal capital which was raised in early 1960 only for housing the federal government employees as well as for providing them office facilities was allowed to expand without any let or hindrance with the result that today it has started bursting at its seams. The CDA and the Municipal corporation of the capital territory today are finding it exceedingly difficult to full fill the civic needs of the inhabitants of the federal capital . Water scarcity and poor sewerage system have already raised their ugly heads. It is about time the government put an end to all types of new construction inside the capital city and the CDA should find ways and means to live within its resources and means otherwise the fate of the federal capital won’t be much different from other major cities of the country. Removal of all types of encroachment from the government land, ban on the use of residential areas for commercial activities adequate supply of water and improvement of law and order are some of the issues requiring urgent action of the government.