May 7, 2005	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 27, 1426

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RAWALPINDI, May 6: All district, city and tehsil governments in Punjab have been directed not to register any housing scheme that does not fulfil basic conditions, including minimum requirement of 160 kanals, it has been learnt. A notification to this effect was recently issued by the Punjab government. It contains new rules aimed at making the working of housing societies more transparent, providing maximum security to the buyers.

The new rules framed under Punjab Local Government Ordinance 2001 will be called Punjab Private Site Development Scheme Rules 2005. The rules will be enforced simultaneously throughout the province except cantonments.

According to the new rules, a housing society must possess a minimum of 160 kanals, and its administration should submit Rs100 per kanal as security fee with application for registration. Apart from this, the applicant will also have to produce proof of the land’s existence, purchase and ownership. The owner or owners will also have to submit a certificate proving that the land purchased is not disputed.

Similarly, the location plan of the land as well as the layout plan indicating details of plots, roads, drains/nullah, sewerage system and other development works are also required to be submitted with the application. These plans will have to be prepared by a town planner. Another basic requirement is geographical survey report of the land and certification that only 20 per cent of the housing scheme land will be for residential purposes.

The land developers will also have to provide details of all kind of development works, information about basic facilities for the residents, mode of work and completion period.

All these details will be reviewed by the local administrations’ scrutiny committee having the authority to accept or reject the scheme. The committee will comprise district coordination officer, executive district officer (works), EDO (revenue) and some local administration officials. The committee can also hire the services of some private experts or firms, if required.