Another ban imposed on advertisements by illegal housing schemes

Islamabad: The district administration has imposed a ban on advertisements of 140 illegal housing schemes that are operating without getting a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

According to an official notification No. MCI/Administrator-1(1)/(2021) issued by Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Hamza Shafqaat, “MCI has decided to ban within the Capital Territory all sorts of advertisements (including but not limited to steamers, boards, banners, etc) regarding housing societies and projects that do not reflect CDA’s valid NOC thereon.”

The official documents revealed that there are 20 illegal housing schemes in Zone I; 7 in Zone II; 7 in Zone III; 77 in Zone IV; and 29 in Zone V of Islamabad.

The documents showed that a total of 22 housing schemes have obtained NOC; 24 schemes have Layout Plan (LOP) but they are yet to get NOC; the LOP of 6 schemes is intact but their NOC has been cancelled; LOP of 10 schemes has been cancelled, and both LOP and NOC of two housing schemes have been cancelled by CDA.

The record showed that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has also sent a list of 39 illegal housing societies of Islamabad to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for inquiry and action.

The notification further stated that “The notification shall be applied across the board with immediate effect and without any discrimination and any violation thereof shall be dealt with strictly in accordance with relevant laws.” The CDA in its message also stated “The marketing/advertisement of housing projects without NOC from CDA is illegal and unauthorized.”

“The advertisers/marketing agencies are restrained from misleading advertising/marketing of illegal housing schemes. The sponsors are further directed to refrain from marketing and development of housing schemes without NOC from CDA,” it said.

It further said, “Through this notice, the general public is therefore cautioned/warned in their own interest to refrain from making any booking/purchase of plots in these or any other unauthorized and illegal housing scheme and must consult the authority (Tel. 051-9252494 for Zone-2, 5 & E-11 and office of Director Regional Planning, CDA for Zone-3 & 4 at 051-9252605) before making transactions about the legal status of the schemes.”