LAHORE, Sept 11: The town municipal administrations will stop issuing no objection certificates for the development of housing schemes immediately and only the City District Government will do so in future.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the district advisory committee here on Saturday. District Nazim Mian Amer Mahmood chaired the meeting, which was also attended by Naib Nazim Farooq Amjad Mir, DCO Khalid Sultan, Nishtar Town Nazim Maj Rafiq Hasrat (retired), Ravi Town Nazim Amer Munir and Data Ganj Bakhsh Town Acting Nazim Noor Shah.

The Nazim said the CDG would issue NOCs after detailed scrutiny of the record for verification of the land ownership of the sponsors by the Lahore Development Authority. Twenty per cent plots of every scheme would remain mortgaged with the authority till the completion of development.

He advised the people not to be misled by attractive advertisements of the private housing scheme sponsors and avoid purchasing plots in the schemes not approved by the LDA.

It was also decided that all taxes would be recovered only by the CDG and distributed among the towns. The CDG and town officials recovering unlawful taxes would be proceeded against.