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10 site offices of illegal housing schemes sealed

October 26, 2020

Islamabad : Capital Development Authority (CDA) has sealed as many as 10 site offices of illegal housing schemes in various areas of the city during last week and stopped construction work over violation of ICT Zoning Regulations 1992 (as amendment).

The owners of the properties have carried out development work in the area, illegally, without approval of lay out plan (LoP) from the authority, Deputy Director Planning, Muhammad Arshad Chohan told this agency.

“We have published public notices many times in newspapers, informing the general public that they should avoid investing in illegal projects as large number of housing societies were selling plots and started construction without obtaining no-objection certificates (NOCs),” he added. He said that time and gain CDA issues notices to such projects and finally they were sealed as the authority cannot allow illegal constructions in the federal capital.

“We suggest the citizens to consult the CDA before investing in such projects as the civic agency will not be responsible for their losses,” he said. “CDA will continue to take action against violations of building bylaws and zoning regulations in days to come,” the deputy director added.

A senior official of the CDA, on condition of anonymity, said the zonal regulations were introduced in 1992 under which the federal capital was divided into five zones. It was decided that Zone I will be allocated for the CDA projects. Residential projects or housing societies were allowed in Zone II and V.

There will be no housing projects in Zone III while Zone IV was for agro-farming and educational institutions. But in 2007, the Supreme Court directed to change the bylaws for Zone IV due to which in 2010 it was divided into four sub-zones and some residential projects were allowed there, he said.

To a query, he said though the zoning regulation was very clear about projects, unfortunately not only over the years illegal housing societies were developed there but legal housing societies also started violating their approved LoPs.

Some societies converted areas meant for parks, playgrounds or graveyards into plots and sold them, he said. The sealed housing schemes, included, Islamabad Farming Cooperative Society, Ayesha Housing Society at Rawat, Yar Muhammad Society in Banigala, Ideal Residencia, adjacent to Park Enclave, Icon Enclave, Babar Enclave, Rawal Enclave, Royal City, Ali Housing Society, Dream Land and Gulf Residencia.

The civic agency enforcement teams supervised the operation with the assistance of federal capital police from the police station concerned and Islamabad Capital Territory Administration.