MURREE: While an anti-encroachment drive has been in full swing throughout the country, no such action has so far been taken in Murree.

The resort city is eclipsed by illegally constructed buildings and even today unauthorised construction is carried out by influential people with alleged political and administrative backing.

Multi-storey buildings have been constructed not only during a ban on construction but also in violation of Punjab government’s by-laws.

Punjab govt has set up committee to oversee process of construction in the town, assistant commissioner says

Junaid Aziz Abbasi, the founding president of Itefaq Group, a local pressure group which supported PTI candidates in 2018 elections, said the city had been damaged due to illegally constructed buildings in violation of rules and regulations.

He said his group had supported the PTI due to the damages caused to the city during the previous governments.

But the PTI government is no different from its successors and “cronies” of the elected representatives are involved in construction of unauthorised buildings.

When contacted, Assistant Commissioner Murree Zahid Hussain, who also holds the charge of town administrator, said after the 11-year-long ban on construction was set aside by the Lahore High Court, the Punjab government had established a committee to oversee the process of construction in the town.

The committee comprises technical officials from land conservation, environment, forest and other departments and is headed by the commissioner of Rawalpindi.

The committee has been given the mandate to frame by-laws for construction, he added.

He said in a week or so the committee would finalise the by-laws and after approval by the government these would be implemented in letter and spirit.

About the ongoing construction, he said he had taken serious notice of it and got an under-construction buildings in Lower Bazaar demolished on Monday.

He said now buildings would be constructed after adopting a proper procedure and according to the maps passed by the TMA.

Strict action will be taken against any violation, he added.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2020