CDA urged to formulate policy for Islamabad's master plan

The sub-committee of Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat has asked the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to formulate a comprehensive policy about master plan of Islamabad to facilitate the people. A meeting of the sub-committee met with Senator Kalsoom Perveen in the chair here at Parliament Lodges on Tuesday, where it discussed the master plan of Islamabad.
Senator Kamal Ali Agha said that the CDA should prepare a comprehensive policy about the master plan of Islamabad to facilitate the people for construction of their homes. He claimed that the CDA itself is violating the master plan and land mafia is exploiting due to its negligence. He said that the CDA should formulate the policy to facilitate the people who have already purchased plots from land mafia for construction of their homes. He said that the CDA is not controlling the land mafia but disturbing the people who construct their homes and buildings.
Member Planning CDA Asad Mehboob Kayani said that the CDA would prepare a comprehensive policy about the master plan of city. He said that the CDA has taken multiple steps against those elements that violated the master plan, adding that many cases have been referred to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for investigation in this regard.
Senator Kalsoom Perveen said, "The people purchase plots for construction of homes by selling ancestral land and properties but the CDA does not work where the law should be applied but intervenes where it is not legally necessary."
She said that the people in Bani Gala have private land but the CDA does not take steps for providing the facilities of electricity, gas and others to them. She said that in the last meeting of the subcommittee, it was decided that the CDA will get approval of a summary from the Cabinet Division for a housing society but the CDA has not yet sent the summary.
On which Member Planning Asad Kayani assured the committee that the summary will be prepared that day (Tuesday) and the report will be submitted to the committee within next three days.
Kalsoom Perveen said that the beauty of Islamabad has been destroyed due to negligence of the CDA officials. The forests of Islamabad have been damaged especially due to cutting trees and by providing extra needed land to some institutions by violating the master plan of the city.
She said that International Islamic University was given the entire sector which also occupied the land of Faisal Masjid. She said that Islamabad Club and Serena Hotel have also occupied unnecessary land. When a common man uses even one foot extra land, the CDA reached there to stop him but it remains silent on other occasions, she added.
She suggested that extra trees should be planted where the forests have been cleaned in wake of construction. She said that Parade Ground and D-Chowk should be opened for public. The committee was told that the University Town, Zone-IV, has been established illegally where no approval has been sought and is included among 105 fake housing schemes.