RAWALPINDI: Divisional Commissioner Joudat Ayaz launched an inquiry on Thursday into the granting of initial permission to five housing societies that began selling land before receiving final approval, by the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA).

During a visit to the offices of the RDA, the commissioner asked Metropolitan Planning and Traffic Engineering Director Jamshaif Aftab about unlawful planning and permission for private housing societies made during the former director general’s tenure.

A senior RDA official told Dawn that the authority gave initial approval to five housing societies last month to complete the planning and procurement of land for their projects.

He said a housing society presents a layout plan within six months of receiving initial permission. It can sell plots after the layout plan is approved and it has received clearance from the land revenue department.

The revenue department objected to the housing societies because the owners did not have compact land in their possession.

“The housing societies had land in patches, and revenue officials told the commissioner about the ownership of the land included in the societies,” he added.

He said the commissioner took notice when the societies began selling plots, and decided to investigate the matter.

Mr Ayaz is also the acting director general of the RDA, and asked the authority officials to work according to the law without any political influence.

He also told all the directors to be punctual and facilitate the public well. He said he would reach work at 8am, and all senior and junior staff should arrive on time.

He said the RDA should ensure the public can avail facilities at their doorstep, and make sure their conduct is transparent and based on merit. He directed all officials to resistant external influence in official matters.

He said they should expedite their efforts to complete assigned tasks and that addressing public complaints swifly is a priority where no compromise could be made. He said officials would face strict action for negligence.

When contacted, RDA spokesperson Hafiz Irfan said the commissioner visited RDA offices and directed for performance to be improved. He said the inquiry was launched into whether the housing societies were granted initial permission against the law.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2019