ISLAMABAD, April 14: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) board has failed to implement building regulations in Zone-IV and Zone-V of Islamabad which could have been a source of generating around Rs80 billion worth of revenue from 500,000 housing units for the authority.

This is yet another display of incompetence on the part of the CDA in a string of unending failures to fulfil its responsibilities.

The CDA is not only cash starved and in a desperate need of fund that could have been generated from these housing units but is also ignoring its responsibility of implementing important building regulations.

According to documents available with Dawn, the authority’s enforcement division recently wrote a letter to the planning wing and the building control departments to give input on the matter.

The letter states: “Islamabad’s zoning regulations of 2005 empower the CDA to provide approval for all types of building and occupancy plans in the limits of ICT..." It also said violations of building zoning regulations should be taken up by the planning wing's Building Control Section (BCS), and the violators appropriately served notices or penalised through the enforcement directorate.

The letter reminded the BCS of the powers it held that enable its officials to ensure proper implementation of building by-laws, rules and regulations.

These powers include provisions for approval of building plans and completion certificates (of residential and commercial buildings), keeping track of building violations and demolishing structures in violation of by-law rules, and keeping a check on non-conforming use violations.

A senior official in the authority explained: “The CDA board is unaware of this lucrative opportunity to generate financial resources from Zone IV and V and the various housing societies that are registered with the ICT administration. A few of these also come under CDA domain.”

There are almost 30 housing societies registered with the CDA. Referring to these societies, the CDA official asserted that “the CDA has never asked the various housing societies registered under it to obtain approvals for their residential commercial building plans and that puts a question mark on the performance of CDA board.”

The official further explained that almost 50,000 residential and commercial buildings are located in these housing societies of Zone-1V and Zone-V and “their building plans have never been approved.”

Advocate Niazullah Niazi, former president of Islamabad Bar, told Dawn: “CDA board has been criminally negligent in generating much-needed revenue through fining those violating the building by-laws."

He explained that the CDA Ordinance of 1960 empowered the authority to require that all building plans for construction in these housing societies be approved by the CDA.

This requirement remains even if these buildings are registered with the ICT circle registrar office (which registers private housing societies).

Mr Niazi estimated that CDA can generate around Rs80 billion if it gets the FIA, NAB and the federal ombudsman appropriately involved and publicised its rules and regulations through the media.

He said a Supreme Court decision further strengthened the CDA power to take action on violation of building regulations. In 2007, the apex court had directed Lahore Development Authority to demolish all buildings violating building by-laws.

Commenting on CDA's reluctance to fulfil its role of implementing building regulations, Mr Niazi wondered why the authority had been so reluctant to address this issue and said the CDA chairman Syed Tahir Shahbaz should investigate the matter.

"Otherwise," he declared, "we will approach the court to take notice of this very important public matter. The national exchequer is suffering losses because of CDA's failure to ensure strong implementation of laws and regulations."

Meanwhile, in the letter sent to the BCS and planning division, the enforcement wing explained that the responsibility of implementing building and land-use regulations fell under the CDA purview: “The functions of enforcement of building by-laws and even land use used to be the mandate of the CDA. With the expansion of the city, BCS confined its limits to CDA's own developed sectors (urban areas only)."

The letter went on to explain that through the implementation of building by-laws, CDA can generate substantial revenue in the form of scrutiny fees, conversion fees, and other fines.”

These fees are between Rs12,000 and Rs25,000 for residential units and vary considerably for commercial buildings.

The letter also invited the attention of the CDA chairman and senior board members to a list of violations committed by housing societies.

In specific, it highlighted the emergence of skyscrapers. “I would bring on record the mushroom growth of high-rise buildings in ICT limits without approval of the authority that pose a serious threat to precious human lives.”

A planning wing official added that the authority already had a complete survey of all housing units and can easily issue public notices to all units asking owners to submit building control fees within one year.