ISLAMABAD, Nov 20: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has prepared a draft law to regulate the building and zoning issues in the federal capital.

The Islamabad Building and Zoning Regulation (IBZR) will be applicable to commercial areas of the capital from next year, a source told Dawn on Tuesday.

The source said under the draft law, the CDA had increased the provision of covered area of both commercial and residential buildings. On the other hand, the Authority had also increased fine amount to be charged in case of violation of building laws, the source added.

The source said the proposed law would be sent to the CDA board for final approval after receiving suggestions and objections from public, Pakistan Engineering Council, Pakistan Council of Architects, Capital Citizen Committee and Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The CDA also plans to publish the law in the form of a booklet so that the residents of the capital can also get themselves apprised of it.

A senior CDA official told Dawn that the IBZR-2002 had been drafted after carefully studying the building laws of Karachi Development Authority (KDA), Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB).

“We have incorporated the best and development-oriented laws of the three major civic and development organizations in the IBZR-2002 to make it the best and comprehensive set of laws in the country,” the official claimed.

The official said the IBZR was last time amended in 1993, but commercial areas of Islamabad were not included in it at that time. However, the draft law encompassed all areas with a view to minimise building laws’ violations in the capital, he added.

Elaborating the draft law, he said the concerned directorate of the CDA would constantly monitor the construction work of both residential and commercial buildings from start to its completion.

He said the periodic checking would be made in five different stages and after clearing of these stages, the CDA would issue “No objection certificates” (NOCs) to the owner of the plot.

“In this way, the violation of building laws could be minimised and the corruption by the CDA officials could be avoided,”.

It may be mentioned that due to non-implementation of building laws in commercial areas, the CDA officials were taking bribes from encroachers and violators.