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| September 13, 2006 | Wednesday | Sha'aban 19, 1427 |
NA for action against illegal buildings
ISLAMABAD, Sept 12: Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain on Tuesday directed an action against illegal constructions in Murree and asked the Ministry of Tourism to check illegal resorts in the hilly area.
The National Assembly was informed on Tuesday that out of the total 600 hotels and buildings in Murree which were surveyed, 126 have been declared dangerous by the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA).
Earlier, members of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) through a calling attention notice, invited the attention of the Minister for Tourism towards illegal construction of hotels and holiday resorts in Murree, causing grave concern among the public.
PPP members Raja Pervez Ashraf, Ghulam Murtaza Satti, Naheed Khan, Fozia Habeeb and Advocate Mehreen Anwar Raja spoke on the motion.
Recalling the collapse of an eight-storey summer resort in Murree on August 31 that killed four people, Raja Pervez Ashraf said: “Murree is a tourist’s spot and the construction of illegal buildings would leave very negative impact on the tourism industry.”
He asked the government to take extra precautionary measures while approving new construction as Murree had been declared a seismic zone.
Naheed Khan asked the government to inform the House about any plan to demolish all the buildings that had been declared dangerous.
Fozia Habeeb held ministries of tourism and environment and local government responsible for the construction of illegal resorts.
She asked the government not to allow construction of illegal buildings in Murree as it has been included in seismic zone-IV.
Responding to the opposition legislators calling attention notice, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Dr Ghulam Hyder Samejo said the issue raised in the notice did not fall in the purview of his ministry as it concerned the ministry of housing and works.
He said that it was a provincial matter and the Punjab government approved maps of the buildings.—Agencies
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