CDA poised to jack up building control fees

Chairman orders transparent award of signboard contracts

ISLAMABAD:

The Building Control Department is all set to jack up multiple fees against its services across the capital from July 1. New rates will apply to all types of fees.

After receiving reports of financial losses in the award of contracts for signboards to the blue-eyed individuals and companies by the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA), the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman directed to award contracts of all signboards through open bidding and to form a special committee for transparency.

The decisions were taken in a meeting chaired by CDA chief Muhammad Ali Randhawa. In the meeting, the revenue and performance of the Building Control Directorate for the financial year 2023-24 was also reviewed.

It was decided in the meeting that the various charges of building control would be increased from July 1, 2024. Scrutiny fee, unauthorised construction, setback and other penalties will be enhanced. It was also decided to increase the fees for change of land use and increase in floor area ratio (FAR).

The CDA chairman was informed that there had been no increase in those fees since 2017. Similarly, the new charges will also apply to the change of land use in Zone Two, Zone Four and Zone Five.

A senior CDA officer told The Express Tribune that the new chairman was taking various measures to increase the income of the authority, which was suffering from economic. To start the 3D digital marketing in Islamabad was one of the initiatives to increase income, he added.

It was also brought to the knowledge of the chairman that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had investigated the matter of the allotment of signboards to the favourites and the loss to the exchequer.

Randhawa directed to conduct all the processes through transparent open bidding, saying steps would be taken to receive more bids than in the past to bring more financial benefits to the institution. A special committee would also be formed to bring transparency in contracts, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2024.