Capital housing societies: FIA to only address larger cases of housing fraud

Individual complainants will now have to approach ICT circle registrar for redressal

ISLAMABAD: A premier federal investigation body has devised a strategy whereby it will restrict itself to probe larger issues in cooperative housing societies in the capital while individual complainants will be asked to approach local revenue officials.

This was revealed in a briefing which was prepared for the director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) following directives from the Senate Standing Committee on Interior.

During a meeting of the panel on December 4, 2017, panel chairman and former interior minister Senator Rehman Malik had sought a report from the FIA about the regulations violated when setting up of housing societies in the capital.

The report said that FIA can take action against 43 cooperative housing societies in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). However, the FIA primarily acts on complaints of layout plan violations and losses accruing from them.

With CDA being the custodian of layout plans, the authority was responsible for referring cases to the investigation body for taking action, the presentation of the law enforcement body maintained.

However, to avoid getting mired in individual complaints, the FIA has decided that such would now be referred to the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Circle Registrar — a revenue collection officer, while the investigation agency will restrict itself to bigger issues which are then referred by the CDA.

Hence, complainants would now have to process their complaints through the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the ICT registrar where the complaints redress system is cumbersome and lengthy.

In light of the Senate panel’s directives, the FIA had on January 3, 2018, asked the CDA to submit a comprehensive report on the violations of zoning regulations while setting up housing societies in the capital and the action taken by CDA against these housing societies.  However, officials in the investigation body say they have yet to receive a reply from the CDA even though the authority was sent a reminder in late February.

Past complaints

Previously, the FIA said, the civic agency has referred enquiries relating to the Multi-Professional Cooperative Housing Society (MPCHS) in Sector E-11 in 2016.

The same year, the CDA had referred an enquiry into the Pak-Medical Employees Cooperative Housing Society (PMECHS). The authority also referred an enquiry regarding the Jammu and Kashmir Employees Cooperative Housing Society and three enquiries regarding the Civilian Employees Cooperative Housing Society (Soan Garden).

Explaining the action taken in these cases, the FIA said that it had registered an FIR against MPCHS. The civic agency managed to recover Rs20.4 million from the management of the housing society in the competent court.

In the complaint against PMECHS, an FIR was registered against the society’s management and a challan was also submitted to the court. The law enforcement agency also registered an FIR against the management of the Jammu and Kashmir Cooperative Housing Society in Sector G-15. As a result, the society transferred to CDA 65 Kanals of land for building a graveyard and 15 kanals for building a park.

Moreover, with regard to the Soan Gardens Cooperative Housing Society, located in Zone-V of the capital, an FIR was registered against its management for violating its layout plan.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2018.