Islamabad: A sub-committee of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) asked the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Wednesday (March 24) to share a list of illegal and unapproved housing societies situated in its jurisdiction within a month, a news source reported.
This matter was brought to attention of the sub-committee in a meeting, which was presided by Member National Assembly (MNA) Riaz Fatyana. Mr Riaz noted there was a recent surge in the number of illegal societies. The said societies were unable to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the relevant institutions and therefore, lack legal validity.
Senator Talha Mehmood stated that the government has banned the supply of water, gas and power to these societies and assured that the top management of the CDA is determined to take action, as well as scrutinize and regularize the existing societies deemed illegal.
The committee accorded that the identification and rectification of the mistakes made by private developers are essential to provide relief to the people. It was also suggested that the civic authority should encourage private developers to follow the regulations. Moreover, the meeting was informed that low-income segments of the society invest in such schemes due to financial constraints, and suffer as a result.
CDA Chairman Amer Ali Ahmed informed the committee that some societies started the sale of plots after layout plan approval but without getting the no-objection certificate (NOC) – which was required to be obtained at a later stage. He stressed the importance of giving proper guidance to prospective real estate developers in terms of procedure. Additionally, the meeting stressed for the ambiguity to be removed regarding ownership of certain lands between CDA and Metropolitan Corporation of Islamabad (MCI).
