RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has declared a housing society on Chakri Road in Rawalpindi illegal.

RDA spokesperson Mohammad Irfan said the authority has announced that the Capital Smart City extension on Chakri Road is not an approved housing society because it has not been cleared by the authority.

He said Capital Smart City advertised its extension illegally and is legal action is now being taken against it under the Punjab Private Housing Schemes and Land Subdivision Rules. The housing society is being directed it to stop its illegal advertisements.

The RDA has advised the public not to invest in illegal or unauthorised societies or building projects, or they will be responsible for their losses.

The sponsors of Capital Smart City have also been warned to immediately stop marketing their unapproved and illegal housing scheme.

The Metropolitan and Traffic Engineering (MPTE) director also recently complained in a letter to the director of the Federal Investigation Agency Islamabad regarding illegal advertisements of private housing schemes on social media, the messaging platform Whatsapp and other applications.

According to the spokesperson, the director said the authority had asked the FIA to proceed against every owner and sponsor of an illegal housing scheme to protect the public from investing in such schemes.

The director said some owners and developers illegally claimed they had received no-objection certificates from the RDA, which he said could be verified in videos they had uploaded to Youtube.

He also gave examples of schemes engaging in this practice, including Al-Meraj, Blue World City and Bin Alam City, the spokesperson said.

The RDA spokesperson said the RDA director general has directed the MPTE directorate to take strict action against illegal and unauthorised housing schemes, construction, commercial activities, booking offices and encroachments without fear or favour.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2018