January 20, 2007	Saturday	Zilhaj 29, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 19: The government told the Senate on Friday it had moved to curb the misuse of residential areas of Islamabad for commercial purposes after the opposition complained of continued violation of bye-laws making the life of residents difficult.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Tariq Azim Khan described as justified the concern voiced by opposition senators through a call-attention notice and said: “Things are being done to rectify the problem”.

Speaking on behalf of Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, who was not present in the upper house, he said steps being taken included prosecution of violators, higher fines, allowing more building space such as an additional third storey for two- storey commercial buildings and alternative plots for private schools set up until 1999.

Senator Saadia Abbasi of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, one of the five sponsors of the call-attention notice, painted a bleak picture of the modern capital’s streets where, she said, residents sometime found it difficult to move freely because of the activity due to commercial offices, schools, diplomatic missions and cellular phone transmission towers.

Giving her personal experience, Senator Abbasi said she could not come out on the street outside her house without confronting hundreds of cars parked there. She said in certain cases owners of residential buildings charged monthly rents of $5,000 to $12,000.

“We are entitled to peace of mind,” she said, and complained that two letters she sent to the chairman of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) about the situation had remained unanswered — to be assured by the minister later that she would get a reply.

Ms Abbasi said similar unauthorised commercial use of residential areas had destroyed the peace and one-time beauty of Rawalpindi’s Satellite Town built in 1950s as the most posh area of the city and wondered how the illegalities in Islamabad would be removed.

Prof Khurshid Ahmed of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal alliance, another sponsor of the notice, said it appeared some “vested interests” such as retired or serving bureaucrats had created this situation by renting out their houses at very high rates.

“If law is not respected in the capital where else it will be?” he asked.

Mr Tariq Azim said a CDA survey conducted in November last detected about 800 residential units being used for commercial purposes in violation of rules, including 255 schools, 27 government offices, 207 private firms, 18 embassies, four restaurants, and 87 guest houses, and that the violators were being prosecuted.

About enhanced penalties, the minister said the limit of fine for violation had been increased to Rs3,000 per square yards of built area from the previous Rs100, to Rs5,000 from Rs500 per day for continued violation, and to Rs5 million from Rs10,000 for first conviction.

To discourage the misuse, the minister said, five more commercial zones had been identified and construction there was under way while more such zones were being considered.