ISLAMABAD: Builders and developers who own properties in Zone-V of Islamabad on Saturday called upon the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to halt its anti-encroachment operation till the finalisation of by-laws for the area.

Addressing a seminar held by the Builders and Developers Association (BDA), the owners said they had already lost billions of rupees consequent to the CDA’s operation which needed to be stopped immediately till the settlement of the matter.

During its operation, the civic agency demolished or sealed commercial plazas and small buildings in Zone-V’s commercial area.

BDA General Secretary Jameel Khaliq said the association would act as a bridge between the city planners and private builders to make the real estate industry competitive and aligned to the future economic development needs of Pakistan.

He appealed to the CDA to de-seal the buildings at the earliest to save billions of rupees private investment and thousands of jobs.

Mr Khaliq said the CDA’s operation had shaken the confidence of real estate agents in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad who could not get dividends of their investments in the area.

Raja Baber of Darvesh Estate Group appreciated the BDA for gathering several key stakeholders of the estate industry to urge the CDA to approve the submitted drawings of the buildings in Zone-V.

He said the owners were willing to pay penalty to get their buildings regularised.

Mohammad Shafique of Imarat Group of Companies said the area involved huge sum of money of local and overseas Pakistanis and the situation should be rectified swiftly as it may hurt the investment climate in Pakistan.

He claimed that the estate sector alone had the potential to pay the country’s foreign loans.

The country still own the land worth $250 billion that could be developed, he added. Retired Brig Mohsin Ali, the DBA member, said e-governance was imperative in the CDA and other relevant departments to boost economic activities in the country.

CDA Member Planning Shahid Masood said the operation was in pursuance of the apex court’s ruling which had directed the authority to gain the control of its land across the federal capital.

He assured the gathering that the by-laws would be finalised by the end of this month which would be forwarded to the federal cabinet after a nod from the CDA board.

BDA Vice President Farhan Javed told this news agency that Zone-V had 150 plazas in which 70 builders had made investments.

He said he CDA had asked the departments concerned not to provide utilities connections in the area, including electricity and gas.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2019