Islamabad: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) informed a parliamentary panel on February 3 that it will take stern action against educational institutions operating in residential buildings.
According to a news source, CDA Director Building Control Zahid Sultan told a subcommittee of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, headed by Member of National Assembly (MNA) Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak, that the authority is currently cracking down against the irregular use of residential buildings. CDA bylaws state that private schools are not allowed to operate in residential buildings.
Sultan mentioned that notices had been served to owners of private educational institutions, but they obtained stay orders from the court. As soon as the stay orders are vacated, they will have to leave the residential buildings, he added.
The CDA representatives in attendance informed the subcommittee that the civic body has not planned about providing educational institutions with alternative plots at subsidised rates, but schools will have to obtain plots through open bidding.
Upon insistence by MNA Khattak that schools, specifically low-cost schools, should be provided with assistance in relocating to a commercial area, Sultan said that the CDA has faced inquiries about the allocation of plots to private schools at subsidised rates in the past as well. However, the plots would be allotted through a transparent process.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNA Farhana Qamar pointed out that student exams are near, so schools should be given an additional two years to relocate to another area. However, the CDA officials mentioned that schools, hospitals, hostels, government offices, and other organisations had already been given a leverage for one year through amendment of the civic body’s bylaws, which was later on rejected by the Supreme Court as it was considered a discrimination against other commercial outlets.
The CDA has currently asked all private schools operating in residential buildings to vacate their respective premises within 15 days. However, Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan has directed the CDA to refrain from creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and find a workable solution without harming the educational system.
The committee decided that the matter will be presented in the main standing committee and if required it will be presented as a bill in parliament, the news source reported.
