Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The four housing societies of the federal capital swallowed 1139.83 kanals land originally meant for parks, green areas, mosques, schools and graveyards.

Though, most of the housing societies in the federal capital are violating their approved layout plans by encroaching public use areas and reducing street and road sizes, but the data available with Daily Times revealed that only four housing societies: Soan Garden, River Garden, Bahria Town and CBR Town have converted 1139 kanals of amenity land into residential and commercial plots.

The housing societies have consumed 744.07 kanals of land reserved for public parks, open spaces and green areas for their huge financial gains, in which Soan Garden, River Garden, Bahria Town and CBR Town have encroached 460.99, 67.35, 195.93 and 19.8 kanals of land respectively.

The aforementioned housing societies also converted 265.78 kanals of land reserved for public buildings i.e. mosques, schools etc. into residential and commercial plots and earned billions whereas the owners of these housing societies even did not spare a place for burial and encroached 130.83 kanals of land reserved for grave yards.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) is the regulatory body of housing societies. It approves layout plans of housing societies and issues them NOCs. The monitoring of physical planning and development of housing schemes are also the responsibility of civic body.

As per rules, leaving a land with the ratio of 4 % for public buildings, 15 % for parks and open spaces and 2 % for graveyards out from the total land of a hosing society is mandatory before getting the approval from CDA. The owner of the society is bound to transfer the land with the said ratio to state and he cannot use the same land for any other purpose.

But, contrary to the rules almost all societies of the capital are flouting these rules in convenience with the housing societies directorate of the CDA, which is only restricted to issuance of notices on aforementioned violations or in some cases requests for the registration of FIRs. In most cases they also stay cool and calm after receiving their share from the gains looted by selling plots meant for mosques and graveyards.

Daily Times had sent an information request to the Public Relations Directorate CDA in May, 2016 and asked three simple questions as to how many housing societies were violating the approved layout plans; is there any list of such violators available with the CDA; and what are the actions being taken by the CDA to curtail such violations of approved lay out plans.

Besides repeated attempts, no response has been made by the CDA to these questions so far. The Director Housing Societies Directorate CDA Faraz Malik accepted that they don’t have the complete list of violations done by these societies so far.

He said: “The violations are an ongoing process and we are working with the understaff directorate, but soon we will be able to produce a complete list of violations.”

“Once a land has been reserved for amenity plots, it comes under the ownership of state and nobody can encroach upon it, but the strong nexus between housing societies and black sheep within the CDA make possible the whole game”, an officer of the authority commented on the condition of anonymity adding that the director housing societies directorate is also mostly appointed by the authority on the recommendations of the land mafia.”