Bani Gala was the first private housing society, say CDA officials  

A former Director, Lahore Development Authority (LDA), Abdul Rashid, said before 1975 there were very few private housing societies.

Otherwise, planning and building of housing schemes at that time fell under government’s domain.

But in Islamabad what provided the impetus to the private housing societies was the infamous stampede to build at Bani Gala during the 90s.

The rich and the mighty headed for the shores of the dam for they dreamt of living like those on the shores of Lake Geneva.

Not only was this illegal but also an environmental disaster. But CDA proved ineffective in the face of the powerful. A former CDA official who didn’t want to come on record, said the moment the authority tried to stop the unregulated construction at the lake, the issue landed in the courts, which upheld rights of private citizens.

Once the court ruled in favour of private housing, the CDA, formulated the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Zoning Regulations 1992, and allowed private housing societies. Later in 1993, it came up with Building Control Regulations, 1993, to further streamline affairs of private housing societies. After this, private housing societies emerged in the city.—KG