ISLAMABAD: As the Capital Development Authority (CDA)’s ‘crackdown’ on food outlets, boutiques and other commercial ventures being run in the residential areas continues, the authority is also planning to ask the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to vacate a stay order which has permitted educational institutions to operate in residential houses.

CDA legal adviser Rehan Seerat confirmed this to Dawn.

The civic agency had submitted to the IHC a list of some 2,073 residential buildings being used for commercial activities. It included 120 government and private educational institutes.

The court was then hearing a case about commercial enterprises running in private houses. The IHC in June last year ruled that the CDA should ensure that residential premises were not used for any other purpose.

After this, a private college went to the IHC and got a stay order against schools, which were operating in houses.

Advocate Syed Mohammad Tayyab, a lawyer who had obtained the stay order against the CDA’s action on behalf of a private college, said: “Educational institutions need time to relocate to some suitable place.”

“Schools and colleges are different from other commercial ventures because they cannot be relocated as quickly as a food outlet or a boutique.”

Under CDA Ordinance 1960, residential buildings may not be used for commercial purposes and those violating the rule can be punished with six months imprisonment or a fine.

Under regulation 20 of the Islamabad Land Disposal Regulations (ILDR) 2005, the penalty may be “cancellation of allotment in case of non-conforming use of a building or plot.”

ILDR also defines nine classes of plots, out of which only one is reserved for residence, whereas the remaining eight classes are to be used for business and semi-business activities. The residential plots can only be used for the residence of a family.

However, the regulations allow commercial activities, including guest houses, on land meant for business purposes.

Using residential premises for commercial purposes is a chronic problem in the capital. In the report submitted to the court, the CDA began its campaign against the non-conforming use of buildings in 2001.

However, those who were targeted by the drive obtained stay orders from the courts, stopping the CDA in its tracks.

Over 70 petitioners managed to obtain restraining orders from the courts, continuing to run commercial activities on the residential premises.

In June 2014, IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui set aside all the stay orders and ordered the CDA to enforce its writ. However, the CDA remained powerless even though the IHC in January this year ordered the eviction of commercial outlets from the residential sectors. The CDA, however, avoided action against the non-conforming use of buildings since the matter had reached the Supreme Court.

However, it took an order from the apex court on September 15, 2015, that finally allowed the civic agency to take action against the non-conforming use of the residential buildings. The Supreme Court also directed the CDA to submit a progress report in three months. The civic agency would submit the report to the apex court by mid-December.

The SC order pressured the CDA to begin this drive but so far schools have been spared the drive thanks to the stay order of the IHC.

CDA legal adviser Rana Seerat said the civic agency had taken up the matter with the IHC registrar office, requesting them to fix the case of educational institutions for an early hearing.

He said the Supreme Court had given clear directions to the CDA “to take action against all those who are violating the rules.”

He added that the IHC registrar office said it was yet to receive the apex court’s directions.

According to him, after the matter would be fixed for hearing, the CDA would place the order before the bench.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2015

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