Cancelling housing society’s NOC: IHC sides with CDA

Park View society obtained an NOC but it was cancelled to retroactively include amended rules

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday upheld a decision by the CDA to cancel the layout plan of a housing scheme by a prominent leader of PTI.

A petition by Park View City housing society — owned by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Abdul Aleem Khan, his wife and two other individuals, was dismissed by the court.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) on December 22 cancelled the layout plan for the housing society, making it the latest scheme in the capital to be added to the list of over 100 ‘illegal’ societies in the city. The high court’s decision has confirmed that the civic body has the authority to pass such decisions.

The housing scheme, located in the Bani Gala hills close to the Park Enclave and Bahria Enclave, is spread over an area of 1,067 kanals on Malot Road in Zone IV. The housing society planned to develop 579 residential plots in the scheme.

In February 2013, the housing society had submitted its layout plan to the CDA and it was granted a no-objection certificate (NOC).

The certificate, however, was cancelled after CDA’s Board approved an amendment in the regulations. The amended regulations made it mandatory for a housing society to build a 100 feet wide access road from the main artery to the entrance of the housing scheme.

After the layout plan was cancelled, the CDA also published an advertisement in media warning the public from investing in the housing society.

The civic agency also restrained utility companies, including the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited and the Islamabad Electric Supply Company from issuing connections for the scheme.

However, Aleem challenged it in the IHC in 2016.

The petitioner was of the view that since the regulation was amended after the layout plan was submitted, thus the new rules should not apply to Park View City retrospectively.

Additionally, the petitioner argued that there was no need to construct a 100 feet wide road since an 18 feet wide access road already existed, but a 100 feet wide road was being built inside the housing scheme.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2017.