RDA officer removed for height charge evasion

The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has removed a senior officer from his post after facing financial losses to the tune of millions by not collecting extra height charges for the high-rise structures of five international hotels on the Islamabad International Airport route.

The hotels—Rudana, Signature, J7, Star Arena, and Hilton—are located in two private housing schemes along the airport route. As per the RDA rules, extra height charges of Rs60 per square foot are collected for building plans with heights exceeding 38 feet and up to 100 feet on commercialised plots. However, for these five hotels, the extra height charges were not collected, resulting in a significant financial loss to the RDA.

Deputy Director Aatif Chaudhry, who had been serving as the acting Director of Land Use and Building Control, took notice of the issue and cancelled the building plan for one hotel while issuing notices to the owners of the remaining four hotels, instructing them to pay the outstanding charges, along with a surcharge.

DD Atif, however, was removed from his position and Muhammad Tahir Mayo, a Grade 19 officer, who was earlier assigned the charge of Director of Metropolitan Planning and Traffic Engineering, has now been assigned the additional charge of the Director of Land Use and Building Control.