Consumer court directs action against illegal housing societies in Rawalpindi

Judge tells district administration to launch crackdown or face contempt charges

RAWALPINDI: A consumer court in Rawalpindi on Tuesday directed the district administration and civic bodies to tighten noose against the illegal housing schemes involved in plundering people’s wealth.

The Rawalpindi Consumer Rights Protection Court Judge Abdul Hafeez has directed the district administration officials to launch a massive crackdown against unregistered housing schemes while he was hearing a case on a similar matter.

Judge Hafeez imposed a fine of Rs1.325 million on a society owner who, despite full payment, had not handed over possession of a plot to a citizen. The court remarked that such housing societies must be stopped from looting hard-earned money of the people.

The deputy commissioner (DC), Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) had been instructed by the court to launch a crackdown against all such schemes. The action should include the demolition of such properties and the sealing of the site. The court has also sought a progress report on January 16 from the related authorities and warned that non-implementation on the orders would be considered contempt of court.

The court further suggested extending radar to the schemes involved in the violation of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

The court said that the housing societies that do not award possession on time should be treated according to the law.

The latest records available with the administration only have 48 housing societies that were registered while the figure of illegal residential schemes has escalated to 203. Some 79 of them have been established in the premises of RDA and 46 in RMC. Similarly, the numbers of such societies in different tehsils include 49 in Murree, 24 in Taxila and five in Gujjar Khan.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2019.