Monal restaurant case: Report sought from CDA

IHC asks submission of reply in fortnight

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Monday sought report from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) over the legal status of the Monal Restaurant located at the Margalla Hills.

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui sought report from the CDA member planning with directions to the chairman of the civic agency to submit a reply in a fortnight.

The directions came in response to a petition filed by a citizen against the restaurant for allegedly damaging the environment through illegal logging and “massive encroachment” as well as overcharging customers.

The CDA, which recently went on a demolition spree knocking down kiosks and katchi abadis in the city, seems reluctant to implement its bylaws when it comes to high-end businesses in the capital.

Recently, the civic agency razed around 150 kiosks mostly eateries frequented by the working class and labourers, but is reluctant to submit relevant record about Monal Restaurant despite court directions.

Irfan Nazir, the petitioner, has listed CDA chairman as a respondent arguing that the head of the civic agency failed to comply with earlier orders directing him to provide relevant record of the restaurant to the court.

Justice Siddiqui gave the order on August 17, 2015, and since then the petitioner has sought record through three applications but in vain, Nazir has stated.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17^th, 2015.