Lawyers and doctors are using their entire residential premises as offices calling it legal under Section 2.17 of Islamabad residential zoning regulations 2005 of building control section, which says that they have rights to consume only 25 per cent area of their residential house as office but approval from the building control section (BCS) of CDA is mandatory and most of the lawyers, doctors have failed to get it.
Moreover, Islamabad High Court Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui , in 2014, directed the BCS not to allow any lawyer, or doctor to consume 25 per cent area as commercial under ‘home occupation’ because they exceeded it to consuming their hundred percent area for commercial purposes.
Previously, Deputy Director of BCS was the competent authority to give them permission; however, the authority was shifted to Director BCS.
It is pertinent to mention here that the honourable supreme court of Pakistan has ordered the civic authority to undertake an across the board action against the non-conforming use and it gave a deadline of six months to rid the capital of this practice. More than a year has lapsed but still, the practice is being done at full pace.
Earlier, a total of 1695 houses had been earmarked as premises used for non-conforming use by building control section and notices had been issued to vacate and relocate to commercial zones in markets and main marakiz.
In upscale F-belt, G-belt, where showrooms, schools, restaurants, boutiques and guesthouses were conducting businesses in houses meant for residence, have yet to be sealed by the authority as most of them bagged stay orders.
After gaining much attention, in the beginning, the drive against non-conforming use has hit a snag in recent weeks. It is alarming that the BCS has not sealed any residential premise on commercial use in the past two months. Sources confided that the lack of interest in sealing homes involved in commercial activities is due to political pressure from influential individuals.
In 2016, Member Planning Asad Mehboob Kiani wrote a letter to Islamabad IG, asking the police force to assist BCS team in their operation against nonconforming use of land.
BCS Director Shafi Marwat has said that the BCS does not have enough manpower to conduct the operation on its own. He said that they need police and enforcement by their side to put an end to this practice.
When contacted, CDA spokesperson Mazhar Hussain said that the operation against the non-confirming use of residential areas is in progress as a number of houses are sealed on daily basis. Out of around 1700 houses, only a few are remaining mainly due to the stay orders or other legal issues, he said.
