RAWALPINDI: Despite the Supreme Court directives to remove commercial outlets from residential areas, the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) has taken no action against the owners except issuing notices to them due to political pressure.

A senior official of the RCB told Dawn that after receiving the apex court’s orders in March, the civic body had issued notices to 222 private schools, 14 saloons, 14 clinics and hospitals and 760 commercial shops and plazas established in residential areas.

He said the notices had been served on owners thrice but further action, including sealing the properties, was stopped due to political pressure.

“The elected members belonging to the ruling PML-N and the RCB officials are against the removal of commercial activities from residential areas. As a result, local residents have to face traffic jams on a daily basis,” he said.

Cantonment Traders Association General Secretary Zafar Qadri said the traders were against commercial activities in residential areas but the RCB had failed to take action.

He said the RCB’s action was limited to vacating educational institutions leaving other commercial activities to continue. “There is a need to define commercial areas. Commercial outlets have been established in residential areas with the help of RCB officials.”

He said shops and plazas had been constructed in the residential areas but it was strange how these constructions were carried out. “The building department of the RCB is being run by non-professional staff who failed to stop such activities,” he said.

PTI former district president Zahid Kazmi said commercial activities should be limited to main bazaars and defined areas but the ruling party had turned the residential areas into commercial hubs violating the law.

“Schools should be shifted out of the main residential areas as these created traffic mess. In the first step, educational institutions should be shifted out of residential areas followed by other commercial activities.”

Mr Kazmi said the RCB should also provide parking facilities in commercial areas so that the visitors faced no problems.

He said there was no proper system to streamline things as the RCB had failed to apprehend the black sheep in the civic agency who helped the owners to construct shops and plazas in residential areas.

He said the RCB was not taking action against private schools and commercial plazas in residential areas.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2018