Did CDA allow illegal marquees in Shakarparian?

Officials say past administration in building control section allowed motels to be used as wedding halls

ISLAMABAD: Even as the apex court hears a case about the mushrooming growth of illegal marriage halls and marquees in the capital, it has emerged that civic body allowed some marquees to be built on land earmarked as motels on Shakarparian.

Officials and marquee owners in the capital suggest that these marquees were set up and continue to operate owing to patronage from some corrupt officials of the civic body.

"The permission for two marquees on Club Road will be expiring by June this year and we will not review permissions for these marquees which fall under non-conforming use," disclosed Capital Development Authority (CDA) Planning and Design Member Asad Mehboob Kiyani to The Express Tribune on Wednesday.

Land for these halls had been leased five years ago through vague permission issued by the building control section (BCS) of CDA. They are located within a two-kilometre radius of the Rawal Lake and hence fall inside the National Park.

The marquees were permitted by BCS with the consent of the member planning Mustafain Kazmi in the part of metropolitan area located in National Park back in March 2013.

When the Master Plan of the capital was prepared in the 1960s, the area earmarked for Shakarparian and National Sports Centre was around 2,335 acres.

In the 1970s the Shakarparian and sports centre was compartmentalised into four sub-zones.



Sub-zone- A comprises the Sports Complex, sub-zone-B the sports club and training institutions, sub-zone-C a recreational park, picnic spots, art galleries, exhibitions, festivals and fairs, recreational halls and park. Sub-zone-D includes subsidiaries and area for allied facilities such as hostels, motels, information centres, and offices.

In 1979, the Islamabad preservation and wildlife protection act were introduced which protected lands falling within the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP).

In 1980, the boundaries of the MHNP were defined and areas, including the Margalla Hills, Shakarparian and National Sports Centre, Rawal Lake, and areas within a two-kilometre radius from its highest water level in the Rawal Lake were included in the national park. In 1992, after the promulgation of ICT (Zoning) Regulations, Islamabad was divided into five zones. The area of Shakarparian/ National Sports Centre was included in MHNP and then Zone-III.

On March 1, 2013, the CDA Building Control Directorate allowed land meant for motels to be 'temporarily' used for commercial purposes.

Then, without the consent of the federal government, it approved building plans for the installation of marquees to be later used to host wedding functions.

The reasoning provided for the move was said to be an attempt to curb the rising trend of non-conforming use of agricultural farms as marriage halls. Permission was then granted for the construction of temporary canopies for five years without charging a single penny for the "change of trade" or use.

"A motel is a hotel designed for motorists and usually has a large parking area for motor vehicles. The term referred initially to a type of hotel consisting of a single building of connected rooms whose doors faced a parking lot and, in some circumstances, a common area or a series of small cabins with common parking," a CDA official from planning wing explained to The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity.

"No trade change has been allowed by planning wing," CDA Director Planning Arshad Chohan told The Express Tribune.



However, with the then CDA Planning Member allegedly exercising powers of the federal government to allow the change for the two marquees falling within MHNP, it paved way for another similar move when a marquee owner in Lakhwal, near the Rawal Lake in MHNP, demanded the same leverage as a Constitutional right before Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the owner of a private marquee claimed that some CDA officials were extending patronage to these marquees.

"Two marquees, currently operating on Club Road, are being supported by some CDA officials in violation of CDA Zoning and the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) Preservation, Protection and Conservation Ordinance," an owner of private marquees located in Bani Gala blamed CDA officials over their partial approached.

Federal Ombudsman summons meeting

Federal Ombudsman Tahir Shahbaz summoned a meeting about the marriage halls and marquees located in Islamabad Capital Territory on Wednesday.

He also issued notices to Capital Development Authority (CDA), Islamabad Capital Territory and other parties to attend the meeting in the Office of Federal Ombudsman Secretariat, Islamabad.

Shahbaz has asked all the parties to submit the required documents, containing relevant necessary details about the Marriage Halls and Marquees. All the concerned parties have also been asked to submit their written reports on the said date not later than 2:00 PM. The matter is pending before the Supreme Court of Pakistan.