Punjab govt decides to strip RDA, MCR of powers to legalise private housing societies

RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has decided to snatch all powers from the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR) regarding the legalisation of private housing societies.

The provincial government has decided to transfer all powers regarding the issuance of no-objection certificate (NOCs) to the Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency (PHATA). The decision was unacceptable to the district administration, Rawalpindi as it showed a strong resistance to the move, because according to them, several illegal housing societies, particularly the ‘Blue World City Housing Society’ purchased land in the army-prohibited areas. In addition, under the cover of ‘Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme’, the ‘Blue World City Housing Scheme’ is trying to take benefit and has applied in the PHATA for NOC to legalise housing scheme.

Following the development, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Rawalpindi has written two letters to the deputy commissioner (DC) to provide full detail of ‘Blue World City Housing Scheme’, because criminal cases were already under process against the scheme in the courts and how the PHATA could issue NOC for illegal housing societies.

No doubt, in 2017, the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) had issued a clearance certificate for ‘Blue World Housing Society’, but after few months, the department had withdrawn the clearance certificate. The RDA had not only withdrawn the clearance certificate but also written letters to all departments like IESCO, Pemra, SNGPL, WASA etc to stop providing services in the ‘Blue World City Housing Society’.

During this period, more than 100,000 families faced hell-like situation, because they wandered here and there with empty hands. The affected families demanded strict action against the RDA as it issued clearance certificate to an illegal housing society and then withdrew the same.

RDA Director General (DG) Saif Anwar Jappa told ‘The News’ that they had filed a criminal case against the ‘Blue World City Housing Society’ and the case was being heard in the Lahore High Court (LHC), Rawalpindi Bench. “I have written a letter to the PHATA that the RDA will not issue clearance certificate to illegal housing societies at any cost,” he claimed. “Where RDA stands after transferring powers means state within the state,” he said, assuring: “I am inquiring as to why RDA issued NOC to ‘Blue World City Housing Society’ in 2017.”

The NAB, Rawalpindi has written two letters vide No. NABR20201022220509/ 2020/IW-III/Inq, on October 20, 2022 to the deputy commissioner (DC) to provide full detail of ‘Blue World City Housing Society’. The NAB chairman had frozen the land of an illegal society on January 28, 2021, while the bureau conducted an inquiry against an illegal housing scheme under the provisions of National Accountability Ordinance 1999 and under Section 3 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010.

Assistant District Collector (Revenue) Abdullah Mehmood said that they could not issue clearance certificate to the illegal housing societies. “We have registered 22 FIRs against an illegal housing scheme, because they had purchased land in the prohibited areas. The district administration, RDA and MCR are the main parties against the illegal housing society, so how we could issue the clearance letter,” he said.

He said in fact, the owners of the illegal housing schemes wanted to get clearance certificates under the cover of ‘Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme’. “We will never accept any kind of pressure in this regard,” he added.