ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has directed all housing societies to get their building plans approved from the civic agency otherwise action will be initiated against them.

The authority is also planning to start action against societies who have violated the approved layout plans or changed the public utility areas reserved for mosques, playgrounds, post offices, schools, parks and parking spaces, etc.

Director housing societies Ijaz Ahmad Sheikh on Friday wrote to operators of all housing societies regardless of their status - legal or illegal - informing them that the CDA was the only regulator of buildings in the capital.

The civic agency cited three judgments of courts in which the CDA had been directed to regulate buildings.

In the judgments, two passed by the Islamabad High Court (IHC), which were endorsed by the Supreme Court, the CDA was given full powers to deal with housing societies.

When contacted, the director housing societies said the CDA had decided to implement the three judgments.

CDA also plans to act against societies who have changed public utility areas, official says

“Today, we started the process of issuing notices and will serve notices on all legal and illegal housing societies asking them to get their building plans approved,” he said.

The CDA notices stated that the IHC in its judgments, titled Shafqat Ali vs CDA and Mohammad Riaz Khan and CDA dated Feb 2, 2017, had directed the civic agency to examine the affairs of the societies on a case to case basis.

“Every inhabitant of a society shall be called through notice. They be put offer for obtaining building plan by payment of requisite fee to the exchequer. On their willing, the technical wing of the building control of CDA shall examine every structure, its specifications and then shall approve it after observing all codal formalities in accordance with law,” the CDA quoted the court judgments.

“It is totally a wrong impression that the approval of a layout plan gives the society power to allow the inhabitants to raise construction with its permission.”

If the officials of the society create any hindrance the CDA officials shall adopt legal course by approaching the FIA to lodge an FIR against them. The CDA said in July this year a division bench of the IHC had upheld the judgment.

The court had also directed the CDA to initiate the process of property tax collection with the approval of the federal government from all housing schemes as well as other individuals who were residing in different zones of the capital.

On the other hand, the CDA is also responsible for providing civic utilities if a housing society fails to ensure it to the residents despite giving an undertaking to the civic agency at the time of getting a no-objection certificate (NOC). In case of failure, the CDA shall take over such a society and provide the utilities, including clean drinking water, sewage treatment plants, waste management and streetlights to the residents at the expense of the society.

The July 9, 2018, judgment of the IHC also stated that the chief commissioner, deputy commissioner, inspector general of police and the SSP Islamabad and others officials were directly responsible for compliance of the CDA bylaws as well as directions referred to in the judgment.

It said the CDA chairman shall submit a compliance report of the judgment within six months through the registrar of the court for perusal.

Another judgment, in which the IHC in a writ petition titled Shahzada Sikandarul Mulk vs the CDA regarding illegal construction of buildings in Banigala and Sector E-11 dated July 9, 2018, declared: “Construction of houses or buildings of any nature whether in the Golra revenue estate or the area comprising Banigala which have been or are intended to be constructed in violation of the master plan, the Ordinance of 1960, the Zoning Regulations of 1992, the Ordinance of 1966 and the Wildlife Ordinance of 1979, as the case may be, are illegal without lawful authority and jurisdiction and thus liable to be demolished as mandated under the Ordinance of 1960 and the regulations made there under.

The CDA officials said the Supreme Court in a civil petition against above orders of the full bench of the IHC endorsed the high court judgment, providing a chance to CDA to take steps to restore its writ.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2018