ISLAMABAD: Persistent delays in the provision of pre-approved building plans to residents have plagued the Capital Development Authority for over a year, adding to the hardships of citizens in navigating the maze of bureaucratic procedures.

Despite a lapse of 14 months since former chairman Mohammad Anwarul Haq’s pledge to end red-tapism and minimising obstacles for citizens in obtaining their building plans, the civic agency has failed to make the pre-approved building plans available on its website.

In September last year, a CDA board also decided that citizens should be provided with residential building plans and should be saved from unwarranted formalities.

The board had directed relevant quarters to prepare a booklet within eight weeks containing pre-approved building plans for plots of various sizes.

The board had directed that after the preparation of the booklet, CDA should start providing the plans to citizens.

It was also decided by the board that the finance wing should fix a fee for the process.

However, sources said that no serious steps were taken despite the passage of 14 months to avoid the hardships faced by citizens.

Currently, to get a building plan approved by the civic agency, one has to go through a cumbersome process involving multiple CDA departments, which often flag the house plans with ‘irrational’ objections.

For what should be a carefree affair, applicants have to get a number of NOCs from various directorates, indulging in a tiresome exercise.

Chairman CDA should look into this issue and end the culture of red-tapism, said an official adding that the decision of the CDA board last year was highly appreciable.

“Once the plans are available on the website, citizens would be able to start constructions without any delays,” he said.

When contacted CDA’s media relations director Shahid Kiani acknowledged the challenges for applicants saying the issue would be resolved at the earliest. “Things are ready, but currently, we are getting a cyber audit done on our website to secure it from hackers. Once this audit is completed, we will upload essential links to help citizens,” he said.

It is relevant to note that following a cyberattack on CDA’s website by Indian hackers, the civic body is engaging cyber security experts to safeguard its digital infrastructure.

The hackers had put CDA’s data on the dark web after the hack.

However, after a few days, the website was restored, but this cyber raid raised alarm bells not only in the civic body but at the federal government level.

In the wake of the attack, high officials authorised the CDA to engage a cyber security firm under a running contractor to safeguard its digital infrastructure and services.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2024