Money down the drain

The twin cities have seen a mushroom growth in real estate and housing societies in recent years. As real-estate offers a high return on investment (ROI), people find it an easy source of income. There is, however, a general lack of framework in this sector. On top of that most of the housing societies are not registered with the Capital Development Authority (CDA), bringing their legitimacy into question. Private housing societies and their legality is an issue for almost all of the investors. There are many illegitimate housing societies which offer highly lucrative deals to people who end up losing all their savings in these schemes.

There are more than 150 housing societies in the twin cities, of which only a few have been granted non-objection certificates (NOCs) by the CDA. The advertisement of these societies should be banned till they get their NOCs. The authorities concerned should inform people about public land and their legality and encourage them to refrain from investing in these illicit societies. In the end, it is the common buyer who has to bear the brunt for investing in such societies. The CDA should take swift action against these societies and should constantly update their profile in order to keep the investors updated.

Muhammad Sagheer

Islamabad