CDA Gets Deadline to Compensate Landowners and Allottees

Pakistan's Federal Constitutional Court has set a six-month deadline for the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to resolve outstanding compensation claims and provide proper rehabilitation benefits to affected landowners and allottees. This decision comes from a comprehensive ruling that addresses multiple land acquisition, compensation, and rehabilitation cases, including disputes regarding Islamabad's Sector E-12.

The judgment, authored by Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, sets a precedent that final acquisition awards dictate the rights and responsibilities of all parties involved. Consequently, affected landowners and claimants cannot pursue additional compensation, extra plots, or rehabilitation benefits exceeding the amounts specified in the awards and the relevant legal framework.

However, the CDA cannot indefinitely postpone legally determined payments and benefits. The court's ruling reaffirms the validity of the February 22, 1969 acquisition award for land in Mouza Bheka Sayedan, which covers 845 acres, seven kanals, and seven marlas. The court also affirms the enforceability of subsequent awards for built-up properties announced in 1980, 1982, and 1985.

Claimants cannot establish enforceable rights based on disputed review orders without proving their authenticity and ensuring the issuing authority had jurisdiction and compliance with legal requirements. The court further clarified that the federal government cannot unilaterally approve additional compensation, revisit settled acquisition awards, or establish new proprietary rights beyond its authority under the CDA Ordinance of 1960.

Instead, all compensation and rehabilitation entitlements must be determined by the relevant acquisition awards, statutory provisions, and applicable policies. The judgment also mandates the CDA to implement valid allotments and rehabilitation benefits, while the competent authority must review outstanding claims. Sector E-12 allottees, who have been awaiting development work and physical possession of their plots since 1989, have their rights determined by their valid allotment instruments, development schemes, and applicable regulations.

The court instructed the CDA to examine pending claims and provide claimants with a fair opportunity to present their cases. The authority must then pay compensation and fulfill all other legally established entitlements within six months of the order. The court delivered the judgment in open court in Islamabad on November 11, 2026.