‘RDA has no power to deal with illegal schemes’

Spokesperson urged citizens to check with authority before investing in any housing societies

RAWALPINDI:

In a startling disclosure, an officer of Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) told The Express Tribune that there are more illegal housing schemes in Rawalpindi division than official ones.

The officer who requested anonymity said that 264 illegal housing schemes exist in the area under the RDA controlled area. He added that all these schemes had been set up without the RDA’s approval. The official warned the public to beware of such housing schemes as they risked losing their money in these questionable societies.

According to details made available to The Express Tribune, there are 62 legal housing schemes in different tehsils of Rawalpindi, while 60 schemes are in different stages of obtaining approval, while 264 schemes are completely illegal. What is astonishing is that the promoters of these illegal schemes face no hindrance in going about marketing their illegal societies in the boundaries of RDA which extend beyond Tehsil Kotli Satyan, Tehsil Murree, and Taxila.

The RDA has always taken the stance that it does not have the support to take decisive action against unauthorised housing schemes which continue to fleece the public by selling their plots in their illegal societies.

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Out of 136 housing schemes in Rawalpindi tehsil, 47 are legal, 19 are under process and 80 are illegal. Murree tehsil has four legal housing schemes, eight are under process, and 49 illegal housing schemes. Taxila has four approved housing schemes, 11 under process and 18 unauthorised schemes.

In Gujar Khan tehsil, three housing schemes are under process and five are illegal while two schemes are illegal in Kotli Satyan tehsil and one is under process for approval.

An RDA official told this scribe that they had served notice to illegal housing schemes to suspend their activities before obtaining approval but their promoters ignore the RDA warnings. The official added RDA was lacking regular enforcement staff which is the only solution to tackle this major problem.

He said the land mafia promoting illegal housing schemes has become so powerful that it puts up stiff resistance and their armed goons do not let RDA officials take any action. The official also said that they had taken no action on the letters written to concerned authorities.

When contacted, RDA spokesperson Hafiz Mohammad Irfan said that the department is taking action against illegal housing schemes as per its powers.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10^th, 2021.