Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has desired that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) should devise innovative solutions for urban as well as rural land development.

The CDA, while introducing sectoral management and resources, should ensure service integration, the prime minister emphasized during a meeting.

He also stressed the need for present a redressal mechanism regarding public grievances on municipal affairs. “Encroachments must be stopped and roads’ design should be made user friendly,” he further said.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi directed the ministry to submit a comprehensive presentation enlisting the said proposals and their implementation mechanism for making CDA a truly innovative and public friendly organisation.

Minister of State for CADD Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Islamabad Mayor and CDA Chairman Ansar Aziz Sheikh and other senior government officials were present during the meeting.

Separately, Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz said that implementation of Islamabad Fire Prevention and Life Safety Regulation, 2010 would be ensured. He said that consolidated steps were being taken to upgrade and strengthen Emergency and Disaster Management Directorate of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad.

The mayor expressed these views while chairing a meeting held at the CDA Headquarters. The meeting was attended by senior officers of the MCI and the CDA, which reviewed the performance of E&DM Directorate.

On this occasion, Sheikh Anser Aziz was informed that during the period from April 2011 to August 2017, as many as 585 occupancies of southern region and 676 occupancies of northern region were inspected to check safety measures under the Islamabad Fire Prevention and Life Safety Regulation, 2010. In this connection, 53 challans and 82 advisory reports/notices were issued, while assessment of 80 building plans were undertaken, in addition to the issuance of seven completion certificates.

The meeting was apprised that during the above said period, 1,261 occupancies were inspected to check safety measures under the Islamabad Fire Prevention and Life Safety Regulation, 2010. In this connection, the meeting was also told that occupancies whose categories were visited during the said period included 129 residential, 64 educational, 26 institutes, 77 assembly, 344 business, 133 mercantile, 337 industries and 109 storage, 35 Hazardous and seven mixed occupancies. It was also informed that 159 government buildings and 1,102 private occupancies were inspected during the above said period.

Sheikh Anser Aziz directed the officers concerned to ensure latest training of officers and technical staff of E&DM at the local and international levels so that they could be equipped with modern technical knowledge of how to control the situation in any emergency. He further directed to take necessary steps for creating awareness among the general public about the precautionary and safety measures against the fire incidents for minimum losses.

Meanwhile, the mayor said that prompt response and solution of the complaints of the residents of the federal capital was “our prime concern”.

He said that the Complaint Management System had helped resolve issues of the residents promptly. More steps would be taken to make this system more efficient, effective and result oriented, he said.

The mayor expressed these views during a meeting held at the CDA Headquarters on Wednesday to review quarterly basis performance of the Complaint Management System. Senior officer of the MCI attended the meeting. Sheikh Anser was informed that Chief Complaint Office of the Capital Development Authority (CDA), received 2,097 complaints during the month of April, May and June, 2017, regarding different issues from different sectors of the entire city.

Published in Daily Times, August 17^th 2017.