ISLAMABAD: A committee formed by the Ministry of Interior for regularisation of housing schemes in the federal capital in August last year has failed to do its work, and two of its members have distanced themselves from it.

As per the ministry’s notification dated August 25, the committee comprised members of the commission for the revision of Islamabad’s master plan.

The members are architect Murad Jamil, architect and planner Sikandar Ajam, Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners vice chairman planning, an expert from public or private sector and the director general or deputy director general planning CDA, who is also the secretary of the commission.

Sources said two members of the committee had expressed their unwillingness to work with it. The committee has not held even a single meeting specifically on the issue of unauthorised housing schemes. However, there have been meetings of the commission for revision of the master plan.

Sources said during the last few months the commission expedited its work on the revision of the master plan but the issue related to unauthorised housing schemes was still unattended.

Two members unwilling to work with committee notified by interior ministry in Aug last year

“In pursuance of the federal cabinet decision dated 17-08-2021, a committee was established to advise and develop an effective policy for regularisation of irregular housing schemes in various zones of Islamabad, i.e., Zone-II, IV & V,” Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid had told National Assembly in December last year through a written reply.

The minister had said as per para (v) of the notification, the commission may recommend the regularisation of an unauthorised housing scheme subject to payment of such fine as may be imposed. The fine shall be imposed on violations that may include (but not limited to): “Non conforming use, missing parks or open spaces, missing graveyard, public buildings, access and inner roads width less than the required planning standards.”

An officer of the CDA said the commission had been working on the revision of the master plan.

“As far as the regularisation of housing schemes is concerned, in August last year a committee was formed and so far there has been no progress. We will look if two members are showing their unavailability for this task. In case they are not willing, the interior ministry can notify new members,” the officer said.

In the last two decades, Islamabad has seen a mushroom growth of illegal housing societies and currently there are over 100 such schemes. However, the CDA failed to control the growth of such schemes.

Officials said Ghauri Town, which is one of the largest unauthorised schemes, comprised eight phases and kept developing for years without any action from the civic agency.

On the other hand, illegal housing societies are also accused of selling out plots which were initially marked in their layout plans as reserved for parks, playgrounds, mosques, schools, etc. Many societies have been operating even without having sewage treatment plants.

Similarly, in most societies, their sponsors/owners have already sold out plots to general public which is now at receiving end due to the illegal status of the schemes.

“Strict action should be taken not only against the unauthorised societies but CDA officials as well. Moreover, commercial areas of these societies should be sold by the government and revenue collected from it should be spent on welfare of those living in the societies,” said an official of the CDA.

In 2016, two reports compiled by the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice had pointed fingers at the CDA and the local administration for the mushroom growth of illegal housing schemes and the violation of layout plans by genuine cooperative housing societies.

The reports, which were adopted by the Senate in 2016 and by the CDA in March 2018, are yet to be properly implemented. In one of the reports about the cooperative housing schemes, the Senate had recommended that the violations of layout plans committed by housing schemes may be accommodated by amending the regulations. However, the house had directed the civic agencies that no compromise should be made regarding public parks.

After being informed that green areas and amenity plots had been sold out by housing societies, the Senate had recommended that any land adjacent to the housing schemes may be bought and utilised as public parks while space for graveyards should be acquired in the vicinity of the societies.

The Senate had also recommended that two to three cooperative societies can also make joint ventures for providing and maintaining such spaces.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2022