ISLAMABAD: Court of Senior Special Magistrate of Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Friday issued arrest warrants for several housing societies operators and individuals for environmental degradation in sector H-17.

According to sources in CDA, Environment Directorate had submitted challan in the court of Special Magistrate Sardar Mohammad Asif against various violators. The court directed the police to arrest the violators of environment laws and present them before his court on Tuesday.

Operators of Shifa International Housing Scheme, Sher Zaman Town, Pearl Orchard also known as Baraq Valley, Ammar Valley and Chinnar Valley have been found violators of environment laws.

The court issued arrest warrants for Malik Naeem Gondal, Haji Fakhar Zaman, Farooq Zaman, Mohammad Talash Zaman, Moahmmad Afzal, Faisal Riaz, Aneesur Rehman, Iqbal Mir, Habib Mughal, Tahir Awan, Fazal Rabi, Waqas Khan, Masawar Abbasi and Rehman Khan. The court will take up this case on Tuesday.

Police asked to produce violators in CDA court on Tuesday

CDA officials said that in sector H-17 the housing societies have been operating for the last many years without having any approval.

They said the sector was not meant for housing societies and recently courts had also directed the CDA to take action against illegal housing societies.

H-17 is an unacquired sector belonging to private people. As per Islamabad’s master plan, it falls in Zone I, which was supposed to be acquired and developed by the CDA. However, the civic agency has failed to acquire this sector and several other such sectors that include H-13, H-14, H-15, H-16, H-17, D-14, D-15, E-14 and E-15.

CDA is not acquiring these sectors nor regulating the construction asking the land owners that these sectors are meant for institutions, which will be constructed when CDA acquires the land.

On the other hand, the local landowners say they have every right to construct houses and buildings on their own land. Since CDA has neither acquired the sectors, nor regulated them, that resulted in mushroom growth of unauthorised constructions.

“We will have to take bold decision. We have only two options, either acquire these sectors or regulate the construction, otherwise in future the unregulated construction will make these sectors new slums,” said an official of CDA.

Earlier, the court of special magistrate had also issued arrest warrants for Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed for violating environment laws in sector H-17.

However, after getting information, he approached the court and pleaded that he was not owner of any society rather he had an underdeveloped plot there and he did not violate any law. After being convinced by his arguments, the court withdrew his arrest warrant.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2022