As many 38 buyers of service apartments, affected by the Grand Hyatt Hotel case, have sought from Islamabad High Court (IHC) to set aside its March 3 judgement regarding cancellation of the lease of plot meant for the hotel as it will cause irreparable loss to them since their apartments were also part of the five-star hotel project.
They have filed a joint appeal with the IHC on Tuesday against the said verdict. Justice Athar Minallah had issued the 48-page judgement on the petitions filed by M/S BNP, the builder of Grand Hyatt Hotel and high-rise twin residential towers, and the buyers of the residential apartments against the cancellation of the lease of 13.5 acres plot adjacent to the Convention Centre, Islamabad. Last year, the lease was cancelled by Capital Development Authority (CDA).
The court verdict had observed a series of violations in the project and noted a number of relaxations the CDA extended to the builder. The affectees, on the other hand, stated in the joint appeal that they were unaware of any irregularity in the project and were bona fide buyers of these apartments.
They criticised the CDA for being lenient to Centaurus and Safa Gold Mall in particular and other high-rise buildings including Silver Oaks, Marriot and Serena Hotels in general with regard to enforcement of its by-laws. The appeal highlighted that the CDA allowed several relaxations by post-bid changes including giving additional land of 3,000 square yards to the builders of Centaurus, M/S Pak Gulf Construction (Private) Limited, and allowing 42 storeys instead of original proposal of 20 storeys.
The scope of the said project originally included 200 apartments, shopping mall and a 5-star hotel. However, the project that stands today includes a shopping mall, one office tower and two towers of service apartment having 400 units that have been constructed and are occupied by apparent buyers, according to the joint appeal that also alleged that Centaurus project has been permitted admittedly in the absence of transparency, in violation of mandatory provisions of the law.
It claimed that last year CDA sealed Safa Gold Mall, located in F-7 Markaz, following various violations in the construction at the site such as building of additional floors which had not been approved. It added that the CDA had de-sealed the premises upon the orders of the court despite the fact that the management of the mall did not obtain a completion certificate. The appellants also requested the court to direct the CDA to take action against the other buildings as it did in the case of Grand Hyatt.
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