ISLAMABAD: Government employees living in official houses in the capital city have made extensions to the buildings and in some cases even raised additional storeys in violation of the by-laws of the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

A majority of those allotted the government accommodations have also encroached on the adjoining areas by building extra rooms. Almost in all the residential sectors, commercial activities also continue unchecked.

Sources in the CDA told Dawn that no one can build even a single room in the government accommodations without the connivance of the civic agency’s enforcement directorate officials. They said the officials concerned provided full support to the government servants to build extra storeys.

However, some of the government officials Dawn spoke to came out with their own excuses.

“I agree that in violation of the rules we have built additional storeys but when I joined the government service I was single and now have seven family members. One of my sons is also married, so tell me where we should go?” said a resident of the G-7 government quarters.

CDA says operation against law violators and commercial activities in residential areas soon

Another resident said the houses for low-grade employees were very small in which only a three-member family can live. “Originally, I had two small rooms and a small courtyard of hardly three marlas. I built an extra room in the courtyard but that was insufficient for my six-member family. As a result, I constructed two more rooms on the roof of the house,” he said requesting not to be named.

The residents of low-class sectors such as G-7 and G-6 said being government employees they can’t shift to any other area while the existing houses were too small.

Occupants of some government houses in Sector G-7/3, Islamabad, have extended their abodes illegally. — White Star

“There are a very few job opportunities for our children. In a majority of cases the sons of low-grade employees are doing private jobs. Those who are in government sectors are getting very meager salaries with which they can’t afford rented houses. So we have no option but to make extensions to our houses,” said Mohammad Nisar, a resident of G-6.

Apart from the extension to the government houses, commercial activities in the shape of guesthouses, restaurants, educational institutions, saloons, media offices etc., are also openly continued in these sectors.

In January this year, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court directed the CDA to take immediate steps for bringing the residential areas to their original shape by stopping commercial activities there.

When contacted, CDA spokesman Ramzan Sajid said a couple of months ago the high court had issued a stay order, restraining the civic agency from starting an operation in the residential areas.

“As soon as the stay is vacated, we will start the operation against all the violators. We will take action against those who are carrying out commercial activities in the residential areas and also those who have built extra rooms in the government houses,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2015

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