| ISLAMABAD-The Capital Development Authority has left the citizens of Islamabad at the mercy of illegal housing societies as there was not a single operation on record against them in the last six months.
According to a report shared by the city managers before a parliamentary body, over a hundred illegal housing societies are working in different zones of the federal capital.
However, the city managers failed to take action against these illegal housing societies and they are openly looting the public at large in connivance with the concerned formations of CDA.
Sources inside the Directorate of Enforcement informed that there was not a single planned operation in the last six months against illegal housing societies as the directorate is busy in nabbing smaller encroachments within the city, which is otherwise not their mandate.
Two formations of CDA -- housing societies’ directorate and the regional planning directorate -- are responsible to look after the affairs of private housing societies in Islamabad.
It is pertinent to mention here that from last many years, these directorates are being headed by two officers and every new management could hardly swap their positions, which shows how much they are needed on such highly important seats by ‘powerful circles.’
It is evident from the record that the said directorates never took any serious action on time rather in most of the cases kept itself restricted to issuing only ‘notices’ to the violators. There is no on ground planning or action to stop illegal housing societies from exploiting the general public.
Sources informed that there is a powerful mafia in the capital, who is even managing the posting transfers of the officers in respective directorates. Their handpicked officers are not in position to take action against them.
They argued that whenever CDA shows its writ, the same mafia becomes active and foils such moves as they have earned billions through China cutting and also know how to protect their stakes.
According to official documents, the civic authority has declared 109 housing societies as illegal so far that include 16 in Zone II, Zone III and Sector E-11, 64 in Zone IV and 29 in Zone V of Islamabad.
Though the civic body was established to regulate all of the areas falling under the territorial limits of Islamabad, however, it remained unsuccessful to expand the enforcement of its bylaws outside the sectoral area.
Resultantly, dozens of illegal housing schemes have been established without the permission of the civic authority. Owners of majority of them have also sold out the land which was initially reserved for green areas, amenities, schools and parks.
On the other hand, the citizens who purchased plots in housing schemes are now suffering because of the illegal status of the housing schemes. On the recommendations of the CDA, utility companies are also not providing them gas and electricity connections.
When contacted, CDA’s spokesperson Syed Safdar Shah informed that the authority has warned the general public to be careful while investing their hard earned money in real estate and gives public notices in the press from time to time.
However, when asked to share the exact details of on ground operations and direct criminal proceedings against the sponsors of illegal housing societies, he sought time to give reply after taking input from concerned formation.
Later, he replied back that action against illegal housing societies is an ongoing process and we are issuing them notices and after that we will take direct action against them.
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