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Sihala college awaits inauguration

By Kashif Abbasi 2015-05-19
ISLAMABAD: The inauguration of Federal Government Degree College for Men, Sihala is facing delay due to a dispute over a boundary wall.

The only degree college in rural areas, constructed at a cost of Rs149 million, has become victim of Federal Directorate of Education`s (FDE) pathetic approach as it has failed to retrieve its land on which the boundary wall will be constructed.

It has put the onus of retrieval of land from a landlord of the area on Public Worl(s Department (PWD), which has completed the project some two years ago.

`The only college in the area will cater to a large population so it should be made functional without any delay,` said Chaudhry Ishaq, a resident of the area.

He said students of the area had to travel to many kilometers away from their home each day to H/8, H/9 College, Islamabad or Gordon College, Satellite Town, Rawalpindi.Naeem Ahmed, another resident of the area, requested the FDE to resolve the boundary wall issue.

The secondary school Sihala was upgraded to Degree College in 2009-10 session. Initially, college offered admissions in various disciplines, but later on, due to shortage of space, administration had to squeeze down the disciplines and the number of admissions.

`The new building is just next door to Police College Sihala, which is a highly sensitive organization. If we start college in the building which does not have a boundary wall, it will provide safe passage to militants to target the police college,` said a teacher on the condition of anonymity.

He said instead of focusing on opening the college, FDE and PWD should first get the collegeland vacated by the encroacher.

Secondly, he said if they took over the new building without the approval of sanctioned posts and recurring budget, the college would face serious administrative problems in future.

Islamabad Model College for Girls, I/8, IMCG Humak and IMCG I/14-, which went into operation a few years ago, are facing serious administrative problem until today, he added.

In the absence of permanent staff and resources, these colleges are being run by borrowed staff, he added.While the Federal Government College Teachers Association (FGCTA) Professor Sagheer Ahmed Mirani was against shifting the college to new building, unless it had its own staffand otherfacilities.

Federal Secretary of Ministry of Capital Administration and Development Division, Khalid Hanif disagreed with this, saying at least classes should be started in new building.

`We are trying to resolve the boundary wall issue. Personally, I`m taking this issue with the authorities concerned to get the college land vacated from the encroacher, but I think there should be no delay in shifting to new building due. We will try to start classes in new building from next session,` the secretary said.

According to the college teachers, the land of college is encroached by a landlord. They said that the land occupied by the allottee of a plot No 42, adjacent to the college premises, is much more than the area allotted to him.

The plot number 42 actually measures 6.5 Acres, as per CDA`s allotment letter, teachers said and added that the allottee is in possession of more than 10 acres, thus encroaching upon the college`s property. Consequently, college is being deprived of its land reserved for front elevation, play ground, parking area and bus terminal.

He urged the building`s contractor to refrain from constructing the boundary wall.However according to teachers, CDA, in 2013, on the request of then director Admin ICT measured the land of allottee of plot number 42, and termed that total occupied area of plot no 42 is 9.49 acres. But teachers say despite the FDE had failed to get college land cleared from encroacher. They said the PWD was also responsible to hand over complete college including boundary walls.`We had completed the project some two years ago, but the FDE is not taking over the building without a boundary wall. If they want a boundary wall, they should clear the land of encroacher,` said Shahid Akhtar, SDO PWD.

Recently, Ministry of Planning Development and Reforms also intervened into the matter and requested the Islamabad Chief Commissioner to resolve the matter.