ISLAMABAD: The city managers on Wednesday issued notices to owners of two marquees, which are operating on plots allotted for motels on Club Road, directing them to end their business in 15 days.

In 2013, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had allowed owners of two motel plots to run marquee businesses on temporary basis for five years and had withdrawn the orders last year. The civic agency had not taken any action against these facilities since last year.

The matter was highlighted in the Supreme Court when a marquee owner in Banigala pleaded that Club Road is also part of Zone III and that though CDA has been conducting campaigns against marquees, it has been supporting this business on Club Road.

SC authorised Federal Ombudsman Syed Tahir Shahbaz to go through the CDA’s zoning regulations and furnish a report to the apex court. The ombudsman will submit this report on Thursday.

The CDA had recently submitted a list of 67 marquees and wedding halls before SC in which the names of these two marquees were not mentioned when it had withdrawn its permission last year.

CDA Member Planning Asad Mehboob Kayani said his staff did not inform him about the status of these marquees when the list was being made.

“I was told they have permission till July but when I got to know they were run illegally, I ordered for issuing final notices to them,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2018