ISLAMABAD: Capital Development Authority (CDA) has failed to impose its writ as almost all residential apartment buildings in Islamabad are being used by people and none of the owners obtained mandatory occupancy certificates from the civic agency.

The occupancy certificate, which is also known as a completion certificate, is issued after inspection of buildings, fire safety arrangements and implementation of building plans etc.,

However, almost all apartment buildings, where thousands of people are residing were occupied by their owners without obtaining completion certificates.

Sources in CDA said that the civic agency had auctioned apartment plots in various areas such as F-10 markaz, F-11, G-8, G-11, Diplomatic Enclave and so on.

CDA has restricted itself to just issuing notices, sources say

They said buildings were constructed on these plots after approval of building plans from CDA but later on, owners without getting completion certificates sold out apartments to people for residential purposes.

In rural areas like E-11 and H-13, apartment buildings were constructed even without the approval of building plans from CDA as the civic agency never made any attempts to enforce its bylaws outside of sectoral areas; E-11 and H-13 are both unacquired sectors.

“We still remember collapse of Margalla Tower in F-10, which was occupied without completion certificates. To avoid, any such tragedy, the CDA will have to wake up from its traditional slumber,” an official said.

According to sources, completion certificates, besides other requirements are issued after checking if the building is constructed in accordance with building plans.

They said in many cases, owners in violation of approved building plans, constructed extra apartments while some are using basements for commercial purposes; this is the reason they are avoiding getting completion certificates from CDA, which it seems has only kept itself restricted to “issuing notices”.

“It is not necessary that all buildings whose owners started using buildings without completion certificate are not fit for occupancy, but, this is something alarming that almost all owners of apartments buildings occupied buildings without completion certificate,” a CDA official pointed out.

When contacted, Building Control Director Faisal Naeem said that the civic agency issued a numbers of notices. “We have been issuing notices while action had also been taken,” he claimed, adding that this issue is a chronic one and the incumbent management could not be held responsible for it.

“But, yes, I agree, maybe there was some negligence in the past but now we are going to take action,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2021