After cracking down on agricultural farms violating the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) bylaws, the civic body is now targeting residential building being put to commercial use.
The civic body on Thursday sealed six such houses in sectors F-6 and F-7 after it was found that the owners were using them as private offices, guest houses, parlours and boutiques in violation of CDA bylaws.
The residential buildings were: House 36, Street 1, Sector F-6/3; House 57, School Road, Sector F-7/1; House 1-A, Street 53, Sector F-7/4; House 49, School Road, Sector F-7/1; House 2, Street 53, Sector F-7/4 and House 13, Street 27, Sector F-6/2.
“The civic body will continue its campaign against non-conforming use of residential areas and more sectors will be targeted in the next phase,” said CDA Member Planning and Design Syed Mustafain Kazmi, who supervised the operation.
He maintained that such violations will not be tolerated, especially since there is sufficient space in commercial sectors of the city. “It is in the owners’ interest that they voluntarily shift their offices to commercial areas,” he added.
A CDA official said in case of breach of bylaws, the civic body can cancel lease agreements and take possession of the building without any compensation or liability. However, he said when action is taken, the owners move court to seek relief, deterring the authority’s efforts.
A senior police official, requesting anonymity, told The Express Tribune that a large number of guest houses have been establish in residential sectors, however, the civic body is reluctant to take action against them since they are run by influential people. “It will be a challenge for the authority to take action against guest houses in residential areas being run by police high-ups,” he added.
On November 28, the civic body sealed four agro-farms in Orchard Scheme near Benazir Bhutto Road which were being used as marriage halls in violation of CDA bylaws. The authority’s building control directorate had issued notices to the owners on October 25, 2012 to comply with their terms of allotment and those of Islamabad Residential Sectors and Zoning Regulations 2005 within 15 days.
According to a 2011 court briefing by former CDA Chairman Imtiaz Inayat Elahi, about 500 of the over 600 agro-farm owners are in violation of the terms of their agreements.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2012.
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