Asif clarified that there was no plan in the CDA record about the digging of a tunnel through the Margalla Hills into Haripur. Photo: File
ISLAMABAD:
The head of the capital’s civic agency admitted on Thursday that the city’s master plan had been violated several times in the past.
The Capital Development Authority Chairman Nadeem Hasan Asif made this admission at a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat held at the Parliament House.
The panel discussed issues related to the Capital Administration and Development Division, National Police Foundation and the Capital Development Authority with particular reference to the controversial ‘twin capital plan’.
Asif clarified that there was no plan in the CDA record about the establishment of a new city or digging a tunnel through the Margalla Hills into Haripur.
“At least it’s not in my knowledge. Neither the federal government forwarded any such plan to the CDA, nor have they issued any written directions to this effect,” Asif informed the committee.
The senators asked him if the proposed plan was in line with the rules and regulations governing National Park area and the provisions of Islamabad’s master plan.
The CDA chairman said the Convention Centre’s construction in 1992 in the National Park area was the first violation of the master plan and was followed by the commercialisation of the park’s land, also in violation of rules and regulations.
“The master plan of Islamabad provides for a capital comprising three zones but the zoning regulation was violated when the whole city was divided into five zones instead,” he added.
Committee member Senator Sughra Imam said CDA had chopped down a large number of trees during the last 12 years from the National Park and allowed commercial use of the land even though it is protected.
“Commercial activities at the park have not only disturbed the natural habitat but also increased the city’s temperature by 4C,” said Imam.
Asif said the authority had initiated investigations into massive violations of the capital’s master plan and said they had recently banned all future development activities at Shakarparian.
Senator Kalsoom Perveen, who chairs the committee, directed the CDA chief to submit details of the master plan violations committed after 1992.
The committee also discussed issues related to development of Sectors D-12 and E-12 and the procedures to compensate the affected people whose land is acquired by CDA.
Chronology of changes made in the master plan
1964 — The first amendment in the master plan was made when the location of Quaid-i-Azam University was shifted from the National Park area southeast of Rawal Lake to northeast of Diplomatic Enclave.
1964 — Sector E-11 was to be developed for low-income private and government housing. But CDA was stopped from acquiring the area in consideration of the location of Golra shrine there.
1969 — Extension of commercial area and the alignment of its Central Business District along Jinnah Avenue, known as Blue Area, up to F-10 was allowed
1969 — Sector F-9, which was originally designated as residential area, was converted into a park - the Fatima Jinnah Park
1969 — The rural periphery of Islamabad along Kahuta Road was turned into an industrial triangle for medium scale industries.
1972 — The federal government converted the whole E-10 sector, half of which had to be preserved as green area, into a residential area, relocating the army’s General Headquarters (GHQ) there.
1973 — Sectors E-8, E-9 and E-10, originally meant for public and government residential facilities, were designated for the armed forces residential-cum official facilities
1974 — Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), originally proposed close to the National Institute of Health (NIH) near Chak Shahzad, was shifted to its present location in G-8/3
1974 — Half of the H-sectors was designated as green belt and the other half for special institutions. But, the upper half of H-8 was given to different institutions, H-9 converted into orchard, H-10 and H-12 given to private educational institutes.
1975 — Originally, the exhibition area, including Lok Virsa, was part of the National Park near village Tarlai Kallan. But they were shifted to their present locations south of Shakarparian Park.
1985 — Gen Ziaul Haq approved the setting up of the Fecto Cement plant in the National Park area in violation of the master plan.
1988 — Sector I-8, designated as transportation centre, was converted into a residential sector.
1988 — QAU’s original site was allocated to Zoo-cum-Botanical Garden.
1991 — Half of the I-14, I-15 and I-16 sectors were originally planned for industrial units and the other half for housing their workers, but the entire three sectors were converted into residential areas
1992 — Zones-II and V, which were part of the Islamabad rural periphery, were given to developing new residential, institutional and industrial series 17 was identified and housing was allowed in Zone-V.
1995 — Land where the Convention Centre and Serena hotel stand today was designated in the master plan as green area and right of way of the Kashmir Highway.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 4th, 2013.
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