CDA reluctant to bulldoze illegal construction

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has turned a blind eye towards encroachments being constructed by a private party in violation of the authority’s building bylaws at an auctioned petrol pump on Embassy road.

Per the CDA Residential Sector (Building Control) Regulations 2005, only a single-story structure was authorised to be constructed in the area. However, the construction of a double story structure was underway at Embassy road in clear violation of the bylaws.

When contacted, the CDA Building Control Director Faisal Naeem said, “We did not approve the building plan for the said petrol pump and the whole construction on the ground is illegal and unauthorised.”

“I have already directed the officer concerned to demolish the structure on site because there is no provision of double story building in petrol pump sites,” he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that the petrol pump site is a property of the CDA Staff Welfare Committee (SWC), which had purchased two sites for petrol pumps in sectors F-6/1 and G-6/4 in the early 70s. The SWC is headed by CDA Administration director general, while representatives of finance, audit and workers union are also its members.

An officer of the authority’s planning wing said on the condition of anonymity that it was important that the CDA took strict action against the petrol pump which would otherwise become the worst violation of the authority’s bylaws. The construction of the double story building in connivance with the CDA officials was setting a bad precedent for others, he added.

Earlier in 1973, the site of the petrol pump at Embassy road G-6/4 was rented out to S M Ismail for a period of 30 years at the rate of Rs 1000 per month for the first 15 years, and an increase of 20 per cent rent remained in effect for the second term covering another 15 years.

In 2015, fresh bids were invited by the CDA to rent out the said plot. A total of 19 bids were received, among which the highest one was Rs 2,178,000 per month. Subsequently, the possession of site was handed over to a private party in January 2017 and given four months to make the petrol pump operational.