The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has not been able to devise a strategy to bring an end to the use of above 1,000 residential units being used for commercial purposes in violation of the civic by-laws and these buildings pose a constant security threat within residential areas.
According to the Islamabad Residential Building Regulation 2005, the use of residential units for commercial activities was forbidden and the CDA was empowered to impose fines or even cancel the allotment of the land to defaulters.
Despite terror attacks in restaurants and foreign missions operating in the residential areas, the city management had yet to work out a solution to relocate these offices and outlets to officially specified areas. According to a CDA survey, around 102 guest houses, 61 hotels, 113 showrooms, 62 clinics, 84 schools, 345 offices, 79 gyms or beauty parlors and 67 general housing businesses were operating in the residential areas. However, an official at the Building Control Section (BCS), who dealt with such cases, said that the parties which were running these businesses in the residential areas used their influence which rendered the CDA helpless.
He said upon receiving complaints, the BCS issued a 15-day notice to the parties concerned to remove the violations at their own, failing which their cases were referred to the CDA Deputy Commissioner (DC) for trial under the Building Regulation 2005.
He said so far, the CDA had referred 1,076 cases to the CDA DC for trial, out of which 450 had already been decided.
He said the authority had also removed 465 violations on the orders of the DC where the misuse of various building had been ended. He said most of the times, the parties, who failed to get relief from the deputy commissioner moved to the civil or high court in a bid of delaying tactics as 31 such cases were under trial there. In total, 130 cases were pending before the DC and the CDA was awaiting a final decision in that regard. However, he said the end of this misuse was complicated, adding that the regulatory bodies which registered the educational institutions needed to be restricted from giving permission for the establishment of schools or colleges in the residential areas.
Those, who were running educational institutions in the residential units complained of not being allotted suitable land by the CDA as the Master Plan had no provision for the purpose.
In his comments, the CDA spokesman said that the department had specified sufficient land for the establishment of educational institutions in the upcoming sectors.
He said the CDA was also striving to end the misuse of all residential buildings; however he said the CDA could take action only after the court had ruled against the violator.
End to non-conforming use of residential units still an enigma
