ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday asked the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to provide details of plots allotted on drains and natural waterways in the federal capital.
Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas heard the case filed by residents of Margalla Town and the Orchard Scheme. The court directed the CDA to submit a layout plan and explain the criteria used for allotting plots on these sites.
Advocate Kashif Ali Malik, representing the petitioners, told the court that despite recent flooding, the CDA was still allotting plots on drains and natural waterways. He said this practice had caused several residential areas to flood.
The court adjourned the hearing until October 16 and ordered the CDA to submit its report before the next session.
Earlier, the CDA cancelled the revised layout plan of the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) Employees Cooperative Housing Scheme and issued a notice to the Multi Garden Housing Scheme for the illegal conversion of public amenity plots.
The Housing Directorate of CDA, through an official letter, revoked the revised plan of the CBR housing society located in Zone-5 of Islamabad.
The letter, dated September 1, referred to an IHC order issued last year, declaring the revised layout plan of March 21, 2023, “illegal, without lawful authority, and of no legal effect.” It directed the CDA to restore the original plan of CBR Phase-I, approved on February 24, 2007.
The CDA was also instructed to ensure that no public amenity plots, green areas, or utility spaces were converted into residential or commercial plots in violation of laws and to protect the rights of residents in the future.
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The CDA immediately cancelled the revised layout plan of CBR Phase-I and declared all planning or development beyond the 2007 approved plan illegal. It also ordered the CBR housing society to submit a new layout plan for the extended areas within 15 days.
In a separate move, the CDA issued a notice to the Multi Garden Housing Scheme for illegally converting plots that were reserved for parks, graveyards, and public buildings in Sector A-17/B-17, Zone-2. The scheme is sponsored by the Multi Professional Cooperative Housing Society.
The CDA said the original layout plan for this scheme was approved in 2006, and in 2007, land meant for public use was officially handed over to the CDA. A revised plan was approved in 2022, but the society failed to get the required NOC even after three years.
The letter stated that the society’s management violated the approved plan by using plots meant for public facilities for other purposes.
It also pointed out that a 300-foot-wide strip of land, located east of the 17th series of sectors, had been reserved for the right-of-way of 18th Avenue in the original plan.
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