Owing to the negligence of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) several workshops set up in the residential areas of the city in violation of the civic body’s rules and regulations are disrupting the peace and calm of the residents by creating noise and environmental pollution.
According to a survey conducted by Pakistan Today, most of the workshops are located in the residential areas of sectors G-7, I-9, G-11 and Karachi Company. Under CDA rules and regulations, no auto workshop can be set up in a residential area. Due to the mushroom growth of such workshops and other business centres, it has become difficult to differentiate between commercial and residential areas, an official said, adding that the land allocated for the establishment of auto workshops in Sector I-11 some 14 years ago could not be developed owing to the indifferent attitude of the high-ups of the CDA. He further said the residents had also lodged complaints with the federal ombudsman who had directed the civic body to take action against the owners of the auto workshops for setting up their businesses in the residential areas and encroaching upon the roads and pavements, causing inconvenience to the general public. The official revealed that after the directives of the federal ombudsman, the CDA had only issued notices to the owners of the workshops, but had taken no further action. After receiving the notices, some influential workshop owners approached higher authorities that hushed up the important issue.
He pointed out that the auto workshops in the residential areas were not only violating the CDA laws but also had permanently encroached upon the land owned by the civic body. He was of the view that the CDA’s directorate concerned must take action against them.The residents of the different areas of the city have expressed serious concern over the auto workshops in residential areas. They have lodged several complaints with the CDA in this regard, but the civic body has turned a blind eye to this serious issue. They lamented that the noise caused by the workshops had made their life miserable. “The noise pollution is badly affecting students and patients in the areas,” they said, adding that the workshop owners parked a large number of vehicles on both the sides of the road, creating traffic jams. They urged the civic authority to immediately shift the auto workshops from the residential areas to Sector I-11.
