Ghouri Town case: CDA told to physically inspect amenity plots

IHC stays conversion of plots for commercial use, gives civic body 10 days to submit report

ISLAMABAD: The civic body on Wednesday was told to physically inspect amenity plots which were allegedly being encroached on and being turned into residential and commercial plots in Ghouri Town as the court issued a stay order on conversion of amenity plots in the society.

The civic body was subsequently told to stop the encroachment and file a report within 10 days.

The direction was issued by Justice Athar Minallah of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) while hearing a petition filed by some residents of Ghouri Town who accused the town’s developers of violating the original layout plan of the housing society with impunity while simultaneously questioning the inaction by the Capital Development Authority (CDA).



Residents said that buildings constructed on amenities plots are sold to citizens who then have to face the consequences of the illegal actions but the actual perpetrators who violated the layout plans and made billions get off scot free.

Petitioners – Farid Ahmed, Ibrar Khan, Abdul Majeed, Muhammad Muazzam Mirza, Sarfarz Ahmed Hanjra – through their counsel Inamul Rahiem had named the CDA chairman, Ghouri Town Administrator Raja Ali Akbar, Ghouri Town Co-Chief Executive Director Raja Sulaiman and Ghouri Town Director Shakeel Abbass, as respondents in the petition.

Counsel Rahiem said that his clients had purchased plots in the housing society using their lifetime savings and built the houses thereon for a decent life.

As per the original layout plans of phase 4-A of the scheme, the counsel said, amenity plots including parks, mosques, graveyards and schools had been earmarked.

Recently, the petition read, the petitioners observed that the developers have started converting the amenity plots into residential and commercial plots in violation of the original layout plan.



 Undertaking

Rahiem said that the Ghouri Town developers along with their partner Choudhary Abdur Rehman had given an undertaking to the CDA on July 13, 2017, which stated that the project had been launched, marketed and managed by them and all formalities such as land documentation of Ghouri Town in zones IV and V shall be completed as per the ICT (zoning) Regulation 1992.

The undertaking further read that the developers shall not carry out any further development in existing phases of Ghouri Town without the explicit approval of CDA.

Only essential repairs of on already completed development works would take place.

Furthermore, they shall not carry out or allow the construction of any building, plaza or commercial building in any phase of Ghouri Town without the requisite no-objection certificate (NoC) from CDA. If that protocol was not followed, the CDA could proceed against them.

But despite the blatant violations of the original layout plan, and the Islamabad Capital Territory (zoning) Regulation 1992, Rahiem said, “no action was taken by CDA against the developers” when they violated the undertaking.



Korang Nullah

The respondents further said that the developers had started filling land at different spots on the banks of the Korang Nullah to create additional plots. As a result, the width of the nullah had been reduced and causes floods after heavy rains.

To make matters worse, they claimed that there was no sewerage plan for Ghouri Town since all the sewerage waste drained into the Korang Nullah.

It has become a dump of stagnant water which is hazardous the environment, Rahiem said.

All these violations are done with the patronage of CDA who are openly patronising these violations since years, he said, adding that despite repeated complaints and requests from the residents, the CDA has turned a blind eye to these blatant violations.

“The deviation from the planned layout will naturally result in discomfort and inconvenience to other residents including the petitioner,” he stated.

Petitioners have asked the court to take action against the respondents in accordance with section 49-C of the CDA Ordinance, 1960, against the rampant violation of the law.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2018.