ISLAMABAD: Beyond the Master Plan prepared for Islamabad in the early 1960s, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) seems to have no vision for Islamabad – except, perhaps, for running the brand new capital of Pakistan into the ground by default.

That bristling assessment of the civic body came from the justices of the Supreme Court after perusing the list of residences in the city being used as offices, and roads closed or blocked to the discomfort of the citizens, that the CDA submitted to their three-judge bench on Wednesday.

It was quite a list: 2,075 houses in ‘non-conforming use’ and 102 roads and streets barricaded.

“It seems the CDA has no vision for the city and no one is thinking about the future,” observed Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

Justices see CDA stuck with Master Plan more in violation than in letter

And Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, who heads the bench, lamented the CDA failed to follow the 1960 Master Plan in letter, much less to develop it for the future.

Without mentioning the corner of D Chowk where the shipping container of PTI chief Imran Khan is parked since August 15, Justice Isa asked why the CDA failed to mention the closure of the Constitution Avenue in its report. The CDA counsel had no answer to the query.

At the last hearing on Nov 28, the bench had asked the CDA to furnish the list of residential houses being used for commercial purposes and roads and streets barricaded or partially blocked for the security of foreign missions in the urban sectors of Islamabad.

The issue arose from an appeal of the consultant firm Bridge Factor (Pvt) Ltd to the Supreme Court against the Islamabad High Court order of June 6 which rejected its plea against a notice served upon to it by CDA for using the residential area in sector F-7/1 as its office, and directing the CDA to constitute a committee to determine how many offices were guilty of non-conforming use of the residential areas. Later the high court also rejected an intra court appeal on June 30 by upholding the earlier directions of the court.

However, the report submitted by Director Building Control CDA Zahid Sultan did not satisfy the Supreme Court which ordered the CDA to submit a new report, also telling why the owners of the premises in “non-conforming use” have not been taken to task and how many applications CDA has received seeking exemption from such non-conforming use.

CDA informed the three-judge Supreme Court bench on Wednesday that 2,075 houses in different sectors of Islamabad were being used for purposes other than residence.

Of them 771 house offices, 392 private schools or academies, 308 shops or furniture stores, 174 are guest houses, 141 hostels, 110 beauty parlours, 19 government offices, 16 embassies, 76 clinics, 23 hospitals and two showrooms. Twelve fell under general or miscellaneous category which the CDA did not elaborate.

Similarly 56 roads in Sectors F and G have been closed or blocked. In Sector F-6/2 they have been closed for safety of the embassies of Norway, Denmark and Sudan, while the Aga Khan Road in Sector F-5 has been partially closed by the Marriott Hotel, the G-6/1-4 Aabpara Road by ISI office, Masjid Moatimar-e-Islami in Sector F-6, Imambargah G-6/2, Melody Market in front of Religious Affairs Ministry, Imambargah in G-6/4, road closed near Polyclinic, Suharwardy Road in front of Serena Hotel, Street No. 56, F-10/4 by Hameedullah Jan Afreedi MNA, F-10/3 by the parking lot of Maroof Hospital, and many roads by the capital police for security.

Likewise, the CDA reported that 46 streets in Sectors H and I have been closed either by residents or the police for security reasons, but did not say since when or for how long. These violations took place with impunity right under the nose of the CDA.

Advocate Ali Raza representing the appellant pointed out certain other discrepancies in the CDA list, such as the head office of the ruling PML-N and Inspector General Police office in residential houses.

The apex court bench asked him to sit with the chairman and other top functionaries of the CDA and scrutinise the report and also find out policies or regulations, if any, which vest CDA with unfettered discretion to regularise breaches of laws.

“CDA can do anything with so much excessive powers delegated to it,” observed Justice Khawaja.

His remark came after CDA Director Zahid Sultan told the bench that under the Islamabad Residential Sectors Zoning (Building Control) Regulations 2005, the CDA has the authority to grant exemptions in case 25 per cent of the residential house is used either by a doctor, engineer, architects or lawyers as their clinic/offices provided they did not create any nuisance and affixed signboards.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2014