FAISALABAD: The Faisalabad Development Authority (FDA) officials remained in slumber for three years while the owners of an illegal housing colony were selling plots to people and amassing millions of rupees.

Now, the Saddar police have registered a case against the developers of Palm City, including Shehzad, Ijaz Mehmood, Salamat and Yaseen, on the complaint of Raheel Zafar, a town planning deputy director of FDA.

Zafar stated in his application that the suspects had developed a colony called Palm City in Chak 239-RB, started development work and sale of plots without obtaining the authority’s approval. Under the Punjab Development of Cities Act 1976, developers were not allowed to carry out development work and sell plots without the FDA permission.

The FDA had demolished the construction on the site and also warned the developers against selling plots. Their site office had also been sealed on Dec 13, however, the suspects had de-sealed the office, which is tantamount to interfering in government affairs, Zafar added.

FDA sources said that officials had intentionally got cases registered only to tease the developers and obtain money from them. The developers had submitted the required documents to the FDA and instead of ensuring completion of legal formalities the officials put the matters of the colony on the backburner.

They said the developers had planted dozens of palm trees worth hundreds of thousands of rupees on the main Sattiana Road that leads to Palm City. They had advertised the colony by fixing promotional plates to all the trees. The trees and development on the colony land was tangible work, yet the FDA was unable to detect any illegality here.

A man who had purchased a plot said delayed action against the illegal colony would eventually affect the investors. He said when the investors would panic they would pressurise the developers to return their payment or get the colony approved. The developers would then contact the FDA to approve the colony and officials fleece them by saying they would do so soon.

However, the officials will only get money from the developers and do nothing. The developers will ask their potential clients to contact the FDA to check the approval status of the colony and the FDA remain non-committal, he claimed.

A police officer said the applicant had showed that fraud had occurred on Dec 13 and accordingly they registered a case. He said it was up to the FDA to get the suspects arrested or not.

He also said it was a years-old practice that the FDA would get a case registered but not contact police for arrest of suspects.

FDA Director General Sohail Khawaja was asked about the registration of a case against the illegal colony, but he did not respond.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2019