SC issues notice to DHA, Cantonment Board, LDA

LAHORE: The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday issued notice to the Lahore Cantonment Board, Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and Defence Housing Authority (DHA) for January 14 to explain who has the authority to issue no objection certificates (NOC) for a new housing society in the city and what are the standard operating procedures (SOP) for obtaining NOCs. The court was hearing an appeal moved by the DHA on issue of passage through its limits, to the adjacent Punjab Cooperative Housing Society and the yet to be approved Society of Builders and Developers.
The bench consisting of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawad S Khawaja and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday observed that the court would only stand with law. The CJP remarked that in foreign countries, people followed the culture of discipline and rules but forgot legal procedures in their own country. Justice Ramday said, “We did have a strong culture of discipline in the past, which we have put aside now”. He remarked that everyone wants to make money in this country now. The appellant’s counsel, Maqbool Sadiq, said that people had great hopes in the judiciary on which Justice Ramday said that the judiciary was not a magician and combined efforts were needed for overall rectification of the country.
The CJP said that we have to change this culture and adopt rule of law. He said that people should not grab things belonging to others. On the case’s previous hearing, the bench had asked all stakeholders to work out a formula for common use of the Ghazi Road, which the DHA had allegedly blocked for residents of other housing authorities. The court was informed about a proposed agreement between the three parties, which was yet to make headway. The court also learnt that adjacent societies were ambitious to raise value of their properties by exploiting roads and passages of the DHA.
At the next hearing, the court will see whether ordinances issued in 2002, with respect to establishment of DHA, was protected under the law or not, as according to SC’s orders on the NRO case on October 16, 2009, the federal government had to present all Musharraf era ordinances in parliament for endorsement.