ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Tuesday cancelled the layout plan of a private housing society for various violations, including selling land reserved for amenities.

The director of the Jinnah Garden-I housing scheme, Ijaz Ahmed Sheikh, withdrew the layout plan of the scheme which was approved in 2011 for 2,548 kanals.

CDA spokesperson Syed Safdar Ali said the society was not complying with the terms and conditions of the layout plan approval and did not complete the pre-requisites for a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the scheme in the seven and a half years since.

He said that instead, the society had started development and construction work in the society without obtaining an NOC from the civic agency.

Society management was selling land set aside for amenities

CDA officials told Dawn that the layout of this society set aside 379 kanals for amenities including 102 kanals for public buildings, 220 kanals for a green park and open spaces and 57 kanals for a graveyard.

The society has in violation of the approved layout plan “converted almost all sites earmarked for parks, green/open spaces, public buildings areas like schools, hospital, community centre etc. and graveyard into residential and commercial plots, except three mosques and a grid station. The width of the nullah passing through the scheme has also been reduced and its right of way has been included in the plots,” CDA’s letter for the cancellation of the layout plan says.

It goes on to say that this is a clear case of wilful concealment of facts, criminal breach of trust and fraud with motive to achieve wrongful gains in violation of the commitments on part of the company to spare the agreed on amount of land specified in the approved layout plan for amenities.

It says some of the amenity plots have already been sold to buyers while concealing that the land was to be used for other purposes.

CDA officials said there are over 100 illegal housing schemes in Islamabad which have used land they promised will be left for green areas and for amenities.

They called for a complete audit of all approved and unapproved housing societies for the greater interest of the general public.

They said the CDA should ensure that no society sells plots to the general public without an NOC.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2018