Development of the federal capital began in 1960, on the basis of a master plan designed by the Greek firm Doxiadis Associates that now faces several challenges due to the loss of greenery and mushrooming of unauthorised construction.

Several greenbelts in the city have been encroached upon for various purposes – in its latest report, the Auditor General of Pakistan has also informed the capital’s civic authorities about the encroachments on greenbelts that violate the master plan.

The report says that the G-5 greenbelt is used as a parking space, while the one in F-9 accommodates the Islamabad Traffic Police office. Various departments are also using green areas and other spaces along Mauve Area, G-8, G-9 and G-10, for parking.

The audit report also found CNG and petrol stations set up along Kashmir Highway, and kiosks on greenbelts in all sectors. Illegal bus stands are operating on greenbelts along I.J. Principal Road, particularly in Faizabad.

In many areas, katchi abadis, also known as informal settlements, have been set up on greenbelts and along the banks of drains. Although this was not mentioned in the report, many seminaries have also been built on greenbelts and right-of-ways.

According to the city’s master plan, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) would acquire land from locals on which it would develop planned residential sectors. The authority has so far failed on this front, with only 25 sectors developed and a major portion of the capital’s 906 square kilometres still undeveloped.

CDA Master Planning Director Zafar Iqbal Zafar said the master plan should have been revised every 20 years, but did not get any proper revision. However, he said, the plan faced around a dozen ill-planned alterations by successive governments, the last in 2010, which complicated development further.

According to the original plan, Zone IV was reserved for a national park and institutional area, but was converted to areas for farming, housing and institutions. Zone V was reserved for rural periphery, but converted to a new residential, institutional and industrial series in 1992.

The capital was to grow towards the east, towards sectors F-11 and F-12, but the decisions to allow housing schemes in zones IV and V shifted the growth instead to the southwest.

CDA Member Planning and Design Asad Mehboob Kayani agreed that greenbelts have been encroached upon, but added that the authority has “devised a policy to deal with this issue, as these encroachments are old ones”.

Mr Kayani said the CDA recently decided that unauthorised construction anywhere in the capital would not be allowed, and the authority would enforce its bylaws.

But CDA officials said aside from the capital’s rural areas, there are even a number of unauthorised commercial buildings in sectors such as E-11 and H-13, just a few miles from the authority’s headquarters. According to a CDA document, there are 58 unauthorised high-rises in E-11 alone.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2017