ISLAMABAD, Aug 24: The Senate Standing Committee on Defence on Friday recommended the imposition of a ban on the development of further residential schemes or lands within Karachi Cantonment’s limits.

The ban shall also apply to the Defence Housing Authority’s further development projects.

This was announced by Chairman of the Standing Committee Nisar A. Memon while presiding over a meeting of the committee held here in the Parliament House.

Senate Deputy Chairman Mir Jan Mohammad Jamali, Senators Syed Dilawar Abbas, Professor Khurshid Ahmed and Naeem Hussain Chatta attended the meeting as members of the committee.

Additional Secretary Defence Major-Gen Mir Haider Ali Khan and senior officers from the DHA and Cantonment Board gave detailed briefings to the committee.

Senator Memon said that both the civic bodies -- Cantonment Board Karachi and DHA Karachi -- should undertake a comprehensive plan for storm-water drainage in their respective areas.

He set a one month deadline for the submission of the plan to the committee, delay of which would be considered as violation of the rules of the committee.

He said the ban on further development of residential areas was meant to provide an opportunity to the DHA and Cantonment Board to first strengthen the infrastructure of the areas under their respective control.

Senator Memon directed the DHA to immediately convene meetings of the representatives of the inhabitants of its housing schemes and suggest remedies to their grievances.

“(The) meeting(s) should be convened within a week’s time (and) remedial measures (should) be taken accordingly,” he said.

The committee proposed a number of measures to help improve the performance of the Cantonment Board and DHA, such as demarcation of their boundaries significantly separating them from the Karachi city government and a clear-cut definition of the CDGK’s work and area of responsibilities.

Senator Memon said that there should be a comprehensive policy to check any hazards to the lives of the workforce, especially of the lower grades, in their respective jurisdictions.

The committee observed that both bodies should come up with steps required to improve their services.The intervention of the committee was sought so that the proposed ban on the fresh induction in the military land and cantonments group through the public service commission be lifted with the aim to strengthen the second tier of the service which, according to them, was weakened due to the presence of the ban for the last five years.

Senator Memon directed the officials of the DHA to submit a report directly to him within 48 hours in the case of one Farhat Ali, whose plot was allegedly acquired by the DHA.—APP