ISLAMABAD, Feb 10: The federal cabinet on Thursday gave the status of an "authority" to Defence Housing Scheme Islamabad (DHSI).

The status of Defence Housing Authority Islamabad (DHAI) was given to the DHSI in a cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Following the change of status, the DHAI would function as an "autonomous body" and would adopt the rules and regulations of the Capital Development Authority (CDA), the DHAI administrator, Brig Zahid Waheed Butt, told Dawn.

The official said the decision of changing the status of the housing scheme would expedite the pace of its development and bring ample foreign investment for its projects.

He said about 20 per cent of the area of the DHAI fell in the jurisdiction of Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and the rest was in the CDA's limits.

"Earlier, we had to run to the RDA and the Capital Development Authority for seeking approvals in even petty issues, but now the DHAI has been empowered to take such decisions and give approvals by itself," the administrator said.

He said after having the status of an authority, the administration of the housing scheme would provide its own municipal services to the members and no such service would be acquired from the CDA.

"We would try our best to give better services to the members because it is easy to provide such services to a limited area instead of the whole Islamabad," he said.

The official said the authority would extend its scheme and the extension of first phase of the DHAI would be made in April, while the second phase and third phase would be started in December this year and in 2006, respectively.

"In the new phases, memberships would be given to the personnel of Navy, Air Force, civilians and senior citizens," he said.

The source said Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal had already approved the plan of turning the housing scheme into a fully-fledge authority. However, according to the CDA ordinance and ICT Zoning Regulations, no other authority could be established in Islamabad in the presence of the CDA and the ICT administration.

When contacted, a senior office-bearer of the DHSI said the CDA and the defence minister had already approved the plan and the management of the housing scheme was hopeful that the cabinet would also approve it.

A senior CDA official told Dawn that the DHSI management had applied for the autonomous status a few months ago.

The DHAI, he said, was being established in Islamabad on the pattern of cantonment areas all over the country. "The DHAI would be an autonomous body and it would have its own rules and regulation," the official said. He said the area coming under the new authority did not fall totally in Islamabad.

According to the CDA Ordinance-1960, there is no provision for the establishment of another authority in Islamabad, the source said.

The DHSI is a housing scheme where majority of armed forces' personnel have purchased land for housing. And, a very small number of plots have been acquired by the civilians.