GUJRAT: The district administration has launched action against the “Citi Housing” scheme in Kharian/Sara-i-Alamgir, declaring all activities of sale and purchase of ownership files of plots as illegal.

The public has been asked to refrain from buying plots in the housing scheme as the administration also removed the billboards and other publicity material of the scheme across the district on Friday.

The administration launched legal action against the marketing for the scheme also. The housing scheme is owned by Amer Malik, the son-in-law of property tycoon Malik Riaz.

Deputy Commissioner Rizwan Qadeer, also the administrator of the district council, issued a public notice, warning the people and real estate dealers of making investment at their own risk as the society had never been approved nor did the management of the company apply for the approval.

Warns public against sale, purchase of land in City Housing

The notice also stopped the real estate developer and management of the housing scheme from sale and purchase and launch of any development work or marketing. The district council and the municipal corporation are the competent authority for approval of such housing schemes.

The notice shows that the company, City Housing (PvT) Ltd, has not yet even formally submitted an application for approval but launched the marketing of plots files, collecting billions of rupees through dealerships and other deals.

Moreover, there has been no progress on ground in terms of infrastructural development as well as getting the required no objection certificates from the departments concerned.

The Pakistan Railways train track also passes through the land purchased by the company.

Talking to Dawn, the DC said the notice had been issued in the larger interest of the general public and the people would be responsible by itself in case of any fraud or scam.

However, he said, in the next phase, the local office of the company could also be sealed as it was not legally authorised to be involved in such activities.

In a major operation, the administration started removal of all the publicity material of the company across the district.

An official of the land revenue department says the Punjab Local Government Department has already imposed a ban on approval of such housing schemes until zoning of the districts about the classification and declassification of the land since agricultural land could no longer be used for developing housing schemes.

He said the zoning of Gujrat district had been pending for the last more than a year and added that the Citi Housing had purchased a huge chunk of land in the area near Rakh Pabbi Sarkar Forest where few other housing schemes had already been approved during the last few years.

Earlier, the district administration had declared 15 housing schemes of Gujrat as illegal and issued warnings for the masses, telling them that sale/purchase of plots on the file-based system was totally illegal.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2022