CDA to regulate construction in private housing schemes

BCS-II will review, approve construction plans for old and new buildings

ISLAMABAD: For the first time, the top civic authority in the federal capital has started regulating the mushroom growth of unregulated construction in private housing societies of the city.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has started regulating building constructions by reviewing and approving building plans in the 54 approved private housing societies in the city.

Previously, CDA’s premier illegal construction watchdog — the Building Control Section (BSC) — was only regulating commercial and residential buildings being built in the sectors. This negated its regulations, which mandated that the CDA regulate all constructions taking place within the city — including private residential societies.



But the authority had seemingly ignored unapproved constructions in these CDA-approved housing societies along with developments taking place unchecked in the rural areas of the capital which in turn encouraged the mushroom growth of illegal housing societies.

“It is indeed a very positive development due to which CDA may extend its writ to private housing societies and rural areas to regulate buildings and check the burgeoning illegal developments,” CDA Public Relations Deputy Director Malik Saleem Akhtar told The Express Tribune, adding that the authority would also be able to generate additional revenue worth billions of rupees from building plan approval fees.

“We are hoping that revenue of around Rs2 billion will be generated per annum by approving buildings plans in private housing societies annually,” CDA building Control Section-II Director Muhammad Shafi Marvat told The Express Tribune as he confirmed the move.

Around 54 private housing societies operate in Zone-V. They have undertaken that all plans for construction there would be submitted to the CDA for approval in accordance with CDA’s building regulations of 2005 and the CDA ordinance of 1960-01.

They have further submitted that no construction work would be undertaken unless the building plan is approved by CDA’s building control section.



All those buildings which have already been built will submit their building plans to the civic authority to obtain completion certificates.

In August 2016, the CDA had decided to activate its Building Control Section – II (BCS-II) to regulate buildings in private housing schemes.

The move was undertaken by the CDA after former prime minister Nawaz Sharif directed Islamabad Mayor and then CDA chairman Sheikh Anser Aziz to set up a full-fledged building control authority to regulate buildings in the capital.

“There are around 54 legitimate and 105 illegal housing societies operating in the federal capital but BCS- II was only mandated to regulate buildings in legitimate housing societies,” said Marwat who had been appointed as the first director of BSC-II and tasked with regulating buildings in private housing schemes.

While a building control authority could not be constituted, the BSC-II has made strides to regulate buildings in private housing schemes.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2018.