Without giving any heed to a stay order issued by Islamabad High Court (IHC), Capital Development Authority (CDA) is going ahead with its plan to convert a green belt into residential area in sector I-10/4. Work is going as the civic body is busy in converting the area into residential plots.
The CDA has also failed to stop the land mafia from constructing housing units in green areas, an official source said. The IHC Chief Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi on December 19, 2012 had issued a stay order on a writ petition filed by Safdar Zaman, a resident of house no 391, street no 112, sector I-10/4. The petitioner had submitted that the CDA, in violation of Islamabad Master Plan and CDA Ordinance 1960, was trying to convert a green belt into residential plots.
The petitioner had made federation of Pakistan, through secretary cabinet division, CDA through chairman CDA and member planning as respondents in the case. The order passed by the court says, "It is inter alia contended that CDA cannot violate the approved Master Plan of Islamabad, but against this the CDA authorities are converting the green area/incidental open space of street No 112 of sector I-10-4, Islamabad, which is complete contravention of laws and provisions of CDA Ordinance 1960. Status quo in respect of the green area/open space of street No 112.sector I-10/4 Islamabad be maintained till next date of hearing."
The petitioner prayed to the court that he was living in the street for the past many years. "Street No 112, sector I-10/4 is a closed end street, whereby at the end there is a green area/incidental open space, and before the green area there is a cul-de-sac provided for the purposes of parking and turning of vehicles," he maintained. The CDA in violation of the Master Plan of the area has carved plots for further allotment from the green area, which is not only a violation of the Master Plan in disregard of the provision as contained in the ordinance of 1960 but also contrary to the law.
The petitioner and the residents invested their life long savings and bought expensive plots, as there was a green area in the said street, which was used for other purposes like play area and drainage sewer. If the plots are carved out from the said green area, it would prejudicially affect the values of the properties located there. The petitioner further said that the action was not only a violation of Master Plan but also a breach of the constitutional guarantee of protection of law and the right to property, as enshrined in the constitution.