Graveyard allocation linked to project volume

CDA board links approval of layout plans to land possession

ISLAMABAD: In a surprising move, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Monday decided to relax regulations for setting aside land for graveyards in private housing societies, with allocations now to be made after reviewing ‘volume’ of each housing project.

In a meeting of the CDA’s Board on Monday, officials decided to amend regulations for private housing societies which had been built on land reserved for public buildings, graveyards, parks, schools or mosques. The condition of two per cent mandatory land allocation for graveyards was loosened.

Earlier, in January 2017, Islamabad Mayor and CDA Chairman Sheikh Anser Aziz had granted permission for people to bury, people who did not belong to or live in CDA’s planned-and-developed schemes, in the capital. The move violated ICT zoning regulations, modalities and procedure for private housing societies approved by federal Cabinet in 1992.

According to Modalities and Procedures framed under ICT (Zoning) Regulation 1992 for the development of private housing schemes, it was mandatory for housing societies to reserve at least two per cent of their land for graveyards.

Moreover, under the ICT zoning regulations, at least 100 acres (800 kanals) of land were required to set up a housing society in Zone-II of the ICT zoning plan, while 50 acres (400 kanals) were required for housing societies in Zone-V.

The CDA Board, headed by Aziz, on Monday decided to relax the regulations.

It subsequently authorised the CDA’s Planning and Design Wing to decide on the need for allocating land for graveyards in a housing society after reviewing the volume of each.

According to CDA sources, with the city moving towards construction of densely populated high rise apartment complexes, the two percent land allocation for graveyards was not sufficient. This is why the wing had been authorised to decide the percentage of land allocation for graveyards by reviewing the volume of the project.

Meanwhile, the CDA Board also decided to link approval of layout plan of private housing societies with possession of land.

In the past, layout plans were approved after reviewing documents of housing societies instead of verifying physical land possession. This meant societies often started construction and selling land without having the land.

The board also relaxed conditions relating the minimum width of streets from 40 feet to 30 feet for five marla plots.

Moreover, The CDA board also gave the approval for acquiring additional land for the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in Sector G-5. The approval, however, is subject to the permission from the prime minister.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2017.