ISLAMABAD: The federal government has extended the scope of the commission it formed to review the capital’s master plan, empowering it to now also examine sewerage contamination of the Korang River.

According to a notification issued Aug 3 by the Ministry of Interior, which is available with Dawn, the commission’s terms of reference have been re-notified to extend its scope.

The notification stated: “In pursuance of the completion of assigned task, the commission will evaluate existing reports, information available on record and all other data for them and finalise the report within one month. The commission will also examine the problem of sewerage contamination in Korang River upstream of Rawal Dam and suggest appropriate solution.”

Interior ministry notifies nine new commission members and de-notifies four

The notification said the Planning Commission, Capital Development Authority (CDA), Rawalpindi Development Authority and Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency will provide support.

In the same notification, the ministry has also notified the addition of nine new members: architect Nayyar Ali Dada, Ali Asghar Khan, Aziz Aslam, Khurram Fareed Bargatt, lawyer Nayyab Hassan Gardazi, environmentalist Humaira Qasim Khan, Asma Khalil, Naveed Aslam and Salman Mansoor.

Four members who were notified in December have been de-notified. They are Syed Ayub Qutab, Javed Ali Khan, Jehangir Khan Sherpao and Abdul Haleem Paracha.

The notification stated that the aforementioned decision was made in pursuance of a cabinet decision dated July 30 and a subsequent directive from the prime minister in a meeting on Aug 2.

The government formed a 12-member commission last December to carry out the first ever revision of Islamabad’s master plan by July 13.

The commission has completed a preliminary 250-page report, while the major work will be carried out by a professional consultant to be hired through a competitive process.

Sources said the commission’s report is being consolidated and the consultant will soon be hired.

They said the commission will finalise its report within a month. It will propose solutions to major problems in the city, including the regularisation of unauthorised construction, slums and contamination of the Korang River while the consultant will comprehensively revise the master plan after carrying out detailed studies on the environment, water, sanitation, sewerage, transport and so on.

Once hired, the consultant will take around 300 days to complete this work.

A master plan for the capital was developed in 1960 and its makers recommended revisions every 20 years, which were not carried out by successive governments.

Around 15 selective changes were made to the city’s blueprints, but the lack of comprehensive planning resulted in unplanned growth of the city in the form of thousands of unauthorised buildings.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2019