Most of the government employees living in the official residences in the capital city have illegally extended their flats illegally while the Capital Development Authority (CDA) is playing the role of a silent spectator in this regard.
Pakistan Today has learned that most of the government officials have built up unauthorized rooms extending their flats in a blatant violation of the CDA’s bylaws.
Besides these illegal constructions, the civic body also seems reluctant to renovate these housing apartments.
Sources privy to the matter told Pakistan Today on Friday that most of these official apartments had been weakened by the 2005 earthquake and they urgently needed repair.
They said the government employees living there were forced to spend from their salary on the repair work of these dilapidated buildings. Some of these buildings, they said, had developed big cracks since the earthquake but the relevant authorities were doing little in that regard.
Pakistan Today observed on Friday that the officials living on the ground floors of these apartments had built garages and rooms by encroaching upon the government land thanks to the negligence of the CDA’s departments concerned.
“Many people who have built these illegally structures are the CDA employees living here and they have been exploiting their official position,” alleged Husnain Moid, one of the residents. He also alleged that some of those CDA officials living there had also rented out some of their illegally built rooms.
Interestingly, the people living on the upper floors of these government flats have extended the terraces of their flats to illegally built rooms.
“I do not think it is illegal because two rooms are not just enough to accommodate a family of five people,” said Jamshaid Azam, a resident of the flats in Sector G/10-3 who has also extended his terrace. The problems being faced by almost all the residents of these flats is the CDA’s inaction regarding renovation of the structures weakened by the 2005 earthquake. The residents fear that even a mild earthquake could flatten all the structure.
A senior CDA official, however, told Pakistan Today that though most of the government employees’ apartments fell under the CDA’s jurisdiction yet some flats were directly the PWD’s responsibility. Seeking anonymity, he said, it was government’s responsibly to take care of the renovation of the weakened state buildings.
“The CDA has been waiting for government funding for the renovation work. In the past, the CDA did carry out some work on those structures but the dearth of money hindered the project. The authority is now reluctant to do any work which cannot be completed. Yet the authority is planning to start some whitewash work on these flats to improve their apparent condition.” he added.
Several residents of those flats told Pakistan Today that they had lodged their complaints with the CDA but to no avail. Some of them also complained about the paucity of potable water.
“We are living under a persistent threat because our flats may cave in any time,” said Usman Mahmood, a resident of G/9 flats. He said proper utilisation of funds was needed for the regular renovation of all the apartments.
A CDA spokesman, Ramzan Sajid, told this scribe that the authority had always tried to provide every facility to the residents and renovate those apartments on priority basis. “We will resolve all the problems being faced by the residents,” he added.
