ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) after getting approval from the federal cabinet will likely start the process of demolishing buildings constructed along drains in E-11.

The CDA has moved a summary to the federal cabinet in this regard after recent urban flooding in E-11/2, which claimed the lives of a mother and her child. It is likely to be taken up in the upcoming meeting of the cabinet.

Sources said if the civic agency translated its plan into reality, scores of structures, including houses, commercial and high-rise buildings, could face demolition.

However, CDA officials said that the rights of people would be protected and developers of schemes would be asked to bear the expenses of relocation. They said plots that were carved on the right of way of drains would be “dislocated” at the risk and cost of the management of societies and owners of the high-rise buildings.

After approval of the summary, the CDA will also get a hydrological and infrastructure study done of housing schemes and stand-alone high-rise apartment buildings, at the cost sponsors of these projects.

Summary moved to federal cabinet; housing society developers to bear expense of relocation

“Our survey has been completed and the area was also filmed,” said an officer of CDA. He said the CDA sought to revoke orders of former presidents Ayub Khan and Ziaul Haq, as the former had given an exemption to revenue estate Golra from land acquisition, which fell in four sectors of D-12, F-12, E-12 and E-11 and president Zia later confined this revenue estate only to E-11.

“Once our summary is approved from the CDA, we will enforce all our bylaws of Zone-I (sectoral areas) in E-11,” the officer said.

Upon being asked why the authority is waiting for the cabinet’s approval to remove buildings from the banks of drains, an officer of the planning wing said: “Actually, without revocation of orders of president Ayub Khan, we cannot enforce bylaws of Zone-I in this sector. That is why we are waiting. Otherwise, according to CDA Ordinance 1960, we can implement our bylaws of exempted area in this sector, which is not the solution to problems of E-11,” the officer said and added that earlier in 2007, the CDA framed bylaws that were related to high-rise buildings only, but those too were not implemented.

“Actually, the exemption of this sector from land acquisition created a number of urban problems like flooding, traffic hazard, narrowing down of drains, environmental issues, etc,” he said, adding the recent incident of urban flooding was caused by a narrowed drain flowing from the D-12/E-12 side and entering E-11.

Doubting the CDA’s move, Tariq Ali, a resident of the area, however says whenever any disaster occurs the government departments make announcements only to forget them later.

“I do not think the influential owners of housing societies and of high-rise buildings will let the dislocation of buildings happen. With the passage of time, this issue will die down,” he added.

Earlier, in 2007, in its first layout plan (LOP), the width of the E-11 drain was 40 feet, but in the revised-as-built plan the width was reduced to 18ft and approved by CDA in 2012.

According documents, seen by Dawn, the then deputy director of CDA raised concern in writing by stating that the width of the drain was 40ft in the earlier approved LOP of 2007 while street 2 did not even exist. He had also recommended that no street should be less than 40ft in this housing scheme.

However, his bosses did not give any priority to his official comments and kept moving towards approvals of LOP with new residential and commercial plots in street 2.

Sources said after the cabinet’s approval, majority of buildings in street 2 could face “dislocation”, as they were located on a road, in fact built on the narrowed drain. Many houses are located at the bank of another adjacent drain, which was also narrowed down by management of the society. It could be noted that from the Margalla Road side, owners of several high-rise buildings also covered the drain to make access road and apparently the width of this drain was also narrowed down.

Meanwhile, residents of E-11 held a meeting to discuss issues being faced by them.

They announced to hold a rally in the sector on Saturday. A statement issued by residents of housing societies said that the direction of drains in E-12 and D-12 were diverted towards E-11 and this resulted into flooding. They also pointed out that there were several encroachments on main double roads of the sector.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2021