Peshawar: The district administration on Wednesday banned 181 private housing schemes in Peshawar for violating regulations communicated by the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA), according to news sources.
PDA Director General (DG) Syed Zafar Ali Shah said that the societies were banned for violating the PDA Private Housing Scheme Regulations, 2019. The DG also revealed that the authorities concerned had served several notices to the societies concerned; adding that legal proceedings have been initiated against the violators. He added that the ban will not be lifted until the requirements mentioned in the regulations are met.
The neighbourhood breakdown of these schemes are as follows:
Shah Alam Tehsil: 123
City Tehsil: 25
Saddar Tehsil: 24
Mattani Tehsil: 9
The official notification issued by the district administration stated that owing to the increasing number of unauthorised housing projects, the authority concerned has called for strict implementation of laws to initiate legal proceedings to curtail the spread of these unlawful societies. It also revealed that the authority has recommended the banning of all sorts of land transfers, mutations and registries in unregistered housing societies until the developers concerned obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC).
PDA DG said that illegal housing schemes do not provide facilities to the residents including greenbelt, playing area, land for schools and mosques etc – which leads to issues between residents and society owners. As per the law, the societies are obliged to provide land for ‘all basic facilities including sanitation, drinking water, natural gas, electricity, proper roads and public parks etc’. Not to mention, a land area of minimum 100-kanal is required for the development of a housing project and 7% of the lands shall be reserved for open spaces or parks, 2% for the graveyard, 5% for commercial and 5% for public buildings.
Moreover, the regulatory authority has directed the land acquisition collector (LAC) to certify that the width of access roads shouldn’t be less than 30 feet and will also provide non-encumbrance from the relevant government offices to certify that the land hasn’t been notified for any other purpose. Under Peshawar Development Authority Private Housing Scheme Regulations, 2019, the maximum size of a residential plot will be 10,890 square feet (two kanals) and minimum size will be 816.75 square feet (three marlas), ‘internal roads with minimum 30 feet right of way and a 10-marla plot for solid waste management’.
Hazafa reveres the art of writing and has been turned into a property enthusiast by profession. Her daily survival kit includes; tea, coffee, keyboard and paperbacks.
