ISLAMABAD: The enforcement department of the Capital Development Authority (CDA), supported by the police and the local administration, initiated action against three small katchi abadis in the city on Monday.

However, members of a civil society organisation deplored the move and described it a ‘cheap tactic to improve their position in front of the court’.

It may be noted that in January the Islamabad High Court had recently directed the city managers to clear the federal capital of illegal slums within a month.

On Monday morning, two teams from the enforcement department launched an operation at a small settlement in Phase-I Margalla Town and at G-10/2.

After around 10 houses were demolished, the dwellers of the settlement in Margalla Town offered that they would voluntarily shift from the government land in 10 days.

“This provided us an opportunity to utilise time and launch an operation against another katchi abadi at I-10/1,” said Mohammad Iqbal, the in-charge of the enforcement department. “Meanwhile, the other team also joined the operation at I-10.”

The docile residents on both sides of the natural stream (nullah) in G-10/2 were caught unaware and the CDA teams demolished around 35 mud-structures at a time when most of the adult males and working women were out of their homes.

Both the teams merged at around 11am to launch the operation around the natural stream off the street 17 at I-10/1 greenbelt and demolished around 80 houses in about four hours.

However, as the information spread, male dwellers of the katchi abadis started reaching at the settlement and clashed with the staff of the enforcement wing.

The CDA said three of the employees - two supervisors and one sub-inspector - sustained serious injuries as the katchi abadis dwellers pelted them with stones.

“The operation was normal in the beginning but minutes before its culmination the illegal occupants engaged in harsh arguments with the CDA staff and turned violent,” said the director enforcement.

“Despite the resistance and violence, however, the demolition team completed the operation.”

The CDA also lodged a report with the Sabzi Mandi police over the incident.

The official said most of the residents in the katchi abadis were beggars and daily-wage labourers.

Meanwhile, the Katchi Abadi Alliance denounced the move by the CDA and said bulldozing mud houses would not yield the desired results.

“Instead of resolving the issue the demolition drives will multiply the suffering of the poor people,” said Asim Sajad, the chairman of the katchi abadi alliance.

He said the government needed to have a rehabilitation and resettlement plan and introduce low-cost housing schemes for the poor.

“If the government can help establish high-end housing schemes for generals, judges, bureaucrats and journalists, why there is no low-cost housing scheme for these people,” he asked.

This is the second major action by CDA against the katchi abadis after launching the operation on April 14 at a settlement comprising of around 1,500 mud houses at the greenbelt between I-10 / H-10.