Grand Hyatt Hotel case: CDA restrained from taking coercive action

On July 1, CDA had sealed the under-construction multi-storey hotel for various building and layout plan violations

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday restrained the civic agency from taking further coercive actions against the builders of the Grand Hyatt Hotel located at the Constitution Avenue.

On July 1, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had sealed the under-construction multi-storey hotel for various building and layout plan violations.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani ordered the CDA that “no demolition or structure demolition of any work will be undertaken.”

Court also allowed petitioner to “arrange and manage their own security in the project for protection, preservation of building structure, construction material, fuel and also allowed to cover their open work within the building especially kitchens, which are under process of completion for time being.”

However, “petitioners will not raise any new structure in the project,” the judge ruled.

The building, which will house a five-star hotel and residential apartments, is being built by the BNP Group.

The counsel of BNP Group, Malik Qamar Afzal, informed the court that the act of civic agency of sealing its premises was “illegal”.

Afzal maintained that the premises in question were exposed to danger, if the order was allowed to continue without security of working staff, adding that building material and fuel on site would also be exposed to extreme weather conditions.

“The project worth more than Rs10 billion will suffer loss if the impugned action remains in field,” he said.

The counsel for CDA, Kashif Malik and Raja Adnan, adopted before the court that the CDA board took the interim measures in compliance with an order earlier passed by the IHC in a petition filed in 2014.

The officials maintained that petitioner had created third party interest without adhering to the CDA by-laws.

While ordering to maintain status quo in the case, the court issued notice to the respondents for July 20th.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2016.