CDA seals Sir Syed Memorial Complex

Campus of CASE, a private office were operating out of building in violation of building rules

ISLAMABAD: The building control section (BCS) of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) spun into action on Sunday and sealed the Sir Syed Memorial Complex for violating building
bylaws.

“We gave them sufficient opportunity and waited for a long time, but they still did not bring the plot into conforming use,” BCS Director Shafi Marwat told The Express Tribune.

He said that since 2011, the authority had issued “several” notices to Sir Syed Memorial Society (SSMS) to bring the complex in line with the rules, but the society failed to take any action in response.



He said that the complex, located in Sector G-5/1, was allotted land for an auditorium, a library, a reading room, and a museum. Instead, the private university Centre for Advanced Studies in Engineering (CASE) was established on the premises. Centre for Advanced Research in Engineering (Care) – an affiliate of CASE – also operates out of the complex.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had issued a stay order in favour of SSMS and the occupants of Sir Syed Memorial Complex.  The stay order, however, expired in May this year and CDA issued another notice to SSMS on May 9, 2016 directing them to shut down the CASE campus.

“The CDA waited before initiating action and Sunday was chosen to avoid any law and order situation,” Marwat said.

The Aligarh Old Boys Association in Islamabad had formed SSMS in 1984 as a tribute to the 19th century educationist and religious reformist Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. Consequently, the CDA allotted a 24-kanal plot on Ataturk Avenue in G-5/1 to the society.

In 2000, the society rented out a portion of the building to CASE, a private degree awarding institution affiliated with the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) in Taxila. The society is being run by a 15-member executive committee, which includes seven people from CASE.

Internal squabbling between some staffers and the committee had brought the society disrepute to the society and had attracted the attention of the city’s district administration.

The Islamabad administration on April 4, 2016, sealed some of the society’s offices, suspended the executive committee, and appointed the ICT finance director to head a caretaker body to run the society’s affairs.



The society was served a final notice and given 15 days to abide by their instructions and remove the non-conforming use, or the CDA would seal the premises and possibly cancel the plot allotment.

CDA Building Control Section Director Marwat said the authority would also act against other educational institutions if nonconforming use of properties on their Islamabad campuses was not addressed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2017.