The residents of Islamabad rural areas have expressed worries over the fate of the Sui gas facility being provided to them by major service provider Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) by asking them to file an undertaking of personal guarantee on Rs 100 stamp paper for any kind of gas connection to them.
They said the step has been taken by the SNGPL primarily to tactfully by-pass the Capital Development Authority's unjustified condition of its No Objection Certificate (NOC) prior to provision of Sui gas.
A resident of Nai Abadi Tarlai, in the outskirts of Islamabad told APP that they have installed Sui gas network in their area on self finance basis by submitting a joint undertaking to SNGPL in lieu of CDA's NOC. Now our money is totally at the stake and any single complaint in CDA against it can waste our efforts and money. He said that the people of the area are equal citizens of Pakistan who have equal rights on national resources and they must not be discriminated.
People from various walks of life of rural Islamabad told APP that the imposition of NOC condition by the CDA before provision of basic services like Sui gas is totally unjustified and discriminatory which will open new ways and means of corruption.
They said that now the future of huge amount being paid by them to SNGPL along with personal undertaking for joint or individual connections remains totally at stake as this undertaking will make them scapegoats by saving the skins of both CDA and SNGPL in future.
It should be reminded that the Capital Development Authority had already notified to all service providers including SNGPL not to provide any kind of service in rural areas without getting from the applicants the NOC from the Authority. Now Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited has adopted another way out by asking from each applicant an undertaking on a stamp paper of Rs 100 both on individual and collective basis.
Making his comments on press reports that some state owned services providers are major forces behind violation of CDA's Zoning Regulations 1992, high placed sources in planning directorate of CDA told APP that service provision to applicants by taking stamped undertaking from them by any agency does not fall under violation of the Authority's by-laws and provision of all such services are subject to the prior approval of the Authority to avoid future complications.
He said the condition of NOC by the CDA was aimed to control illegal activities of ruthless constructions in ICT around the capital city, whereas provision of civic amenities by some service providers despite ban by CDA makes our strategy and plan ineffective much before meeting its objectives. He added that this practice would encourage land mafia and expedite the pace of illegal constructions in the rural areas of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
Deputy Chief Sales SNGPL Islamabad Region Shaheenullah told APP that they have found most honourable way out in the form of personal undertaking, primarily to save the precious time and resources of their perspective customers and applicants who were earlier badly affected by the CDA's NOC condition. He said that as capital's managers, CDA can control illegal construction and town developments in the rural areas through other ways and means rather than by imposing NOC condition by CDA on plot owners for services.
As service providers we have no justification to become part of an enforcing civic body and all aspiring applicants provide the required personal undertaking on their own will, he added. He admitted that as a sole regulatory body of the capital, CDA has notified earlier to SNGPL regarding of production of CDA's NOC from prospective applicants for all kind of construction and town developments.
He said that the undertaking on behalf of the applicants is safety valve to provide them gas facility and save their time. Perhaps, this policy is followed only for the established villages or scattered residential units built outside a regular housing society in the rural areas within ICT, he maintained. Before provision of services to any housing society, SNGPL strictly abides by the laws of the respective regulatory body either it is the case of CDA or RDA, he added.
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