Rawalpindi : Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has decided to review the list of legal and illegal housing societies to protect the investment of citizens.
The decision has been taken because several housing societies are not practically on the ground. The civic body will involve revenue, local government, district council, and other departments to protect the money of common citizens who have or want to invest in private housing schemes.
Prime Minister Imran Khan also wants to streamline the process of private housing societies where the public has invested heavily.
Thousands of people have settled in illegal private housing societies and have to face difficulties in getting No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from RDA for installation of utility services life sui gas, electricity, and water connections in their houses. The civic body issues NOCs only to those citizens who are settled in legal housing societies. In absence of proper NOCs, the citizens have to resort to inappropriate ways to get necessary services.
Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Metropolitan & Traffic Engineering (MP&TE) Director Shahzad Haider told ‘The News’ that they have decided to review the legal and illegal lists of all private housing schemes to provide maximum relief to the public. But, there is a need to include all departments particularly revenue department, local government department, district council department, and others in the process,” he added. He said that they want to provide proper NOCs to all citizens to get services but how could they issue NOCs to those who are living in illegal housing schemes.
He has claimed that several private housing schemes only exist on papers and not practically on the ground. “Government should make rules to regularise all private housing schemes to resolve this serious issue and there is a need to review the list of legal and illegal housing schemes in RDA jurisdiction,” he said.
According to RDA, there are total of 300 private housing schemes in the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) jurisdiction. But, only 49 societies are legal while around 251 are illegal.
Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) was formed in 1989 but was properly operational in 1991. Dozens of private housing societies were established before 1989. Several schemes are only on papers but not on the ground and public wandering here and there for NOCs.