Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court is scheduled to take up today (Monday) a suo-motu case pertaining to authorised and unauthorised marriage halls and marquees operating in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

The case will be heard by a three-member SC bench comprising Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Ijazul Ahsan.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has submitted a report along with a draft of regulations over the matter, according to which almost 67 wedding halls and marquees were operating in different parts of the ICT in violation of the civic agency’s rules.

According to the CDA report, there are 12 such marquees operating in the newly developed Sector E-11, two in Sector H-13, six in Sector G-12 and 20 along the Islamabad Expressway. Besides, a number of wedding halls and marquees are also operating along Lehtrar Road and in Bhara Kahu.

The majority of these facilities do not have parking space for visitors. As per the new parametres for regularising wedding halls and marquees, drafted by the CDA’s planning wing, halls seeking CDA endorsement must be spread over at least four kanals of land.

Only those halls will be allowed which will have three combinations, which include lower ground, ground plus one storey and ground plus two storeys.

Whereas, basements at these halls will only be authorised to be used as parking areas and there must be at least one parking space for every 250 square feet of covered area.

A minimum of eight kanals of land will be required to set up marquees and owners will have to reserve at least 70 percent of the total area for parking and circulation. After taking notice into the matter, the court had directed CDA to regularise all wedding halls and marquees.

The trend of establishing wedding halls and marquees has become popular over the past decade. A lack of oversight by the authorities, coupled with its failure to devise appropriate rules to regulate them, allowed the illegal activity to flourish.

The court had taken notice into the matter on January 15 this year while hearing a case related to illegal constructions in Murree.

Later, the human rights cell of the court had written to the CDA seeking details about the marriage halls and marquees.

The Punjab government in a report had stated that there were 105 dangerous buildings as per a survey carried out by the communication and works department within the city area where construction had been banned prior to 2008.

The report stated that so far, 476 cases of building plans have been submitted by builders seeking approval, out of which 202 have been approved, 131 cases in litigation while 230 cases have been sent to the police for the registration of FIRs.

“The government of Punjab has made serious efforts to preserve the beauty of Murree Hills,” the report had stated.

Published in Daily Times, February 19^th 2018.