KARACHI, Aug 22: In a move that is likely to check land price speculation, the governing body of the Defence Housing Authority has made it compulsory for estate agents operating in the area under its jurisdiction to register with the DHA.

The spokesman for the DHA, Rafat Naqvi, told Dawn on Monday that real estate agents dealing in DHA land went to court when the same decision had been taken by the executive board in the past.

“The Sindh High Court ruled that the DHA could take this decision only after necessary legislation. The governing body of the DHA has now complied by f this condition. Registration of real estate agents will make the process of procurement of properties in the DHA more transparent,” he said, adding that this condition was already applicable in DHAs of Islamabad and Lahore.

The spokesman said registered real estate agents would be asked to abide by a certain code of conduct, which would help investors.

He said that the DHA passed a Rs2.5 billion development budget at its 21st annual meeting on Monday.

He said the DHA would implement a Rs1.2 billion project of rehabilitation of old phases within four years.

“The DHA administrator, Brig Maqsood Hussain, told the governing body that revenue earned from the beach development project would be used to fund the rehabilitation project of old phases. We have changed our strategy about rehabilitation of old phases,” he explained.

Crumbling infrastructure in the old phases of DHA has forced the administration to embark on the rehabilitation project.