The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has advised the citizens not to invest in unauthorised housing schemes declared illegal by the authority. The citizens have been advised in their own interest that they should not make any investment in any illegal and unauthorised Housing Scheme. The Chairman RDA, Muhammad Arif Abbasi has also directed the MP&TE Directorate to take strict action against illegal and unauthorised commercial and residential construction activities, booking offices and encroachments without any discrimination.
He advised the citizens to check status of the society at www.rda.gop.pk before any investment. The property dealers have also been warned against making investments or advertisements of illegal housing schemes. Strict action would be taken against illegal housing schemes and no one would be allowed to cheat the public said Director General, Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA).
Talking to APP he said RDA had submitted its report about illegal housing schemes to the committee formed by Supreme Court of Pakistan. He informed that the rules about private housing schemes were formulated in 2010 and RDA was approving new housing projects according to the rules. He said, total 46 housing schemes in the jurisdiction of RDA were approved and 36 were declared illegal while four are under process.
According to RDA record, total 46 housing schemes are approved projects while four housing schemes namely Shalimar Town (Revised and Extension) Nasrala and Chahan, Taj Residencia (Revised and Extension) Kaak, Faisal Town (Revised and Extension) Chahan, Barkat, Noghazi and Gandhara City (Revised and Extension) Pind Nasrala are under process in RDA. Total 36 private housing schemes have been declared illegal by RDA.
Eight housing schemes in district council, Tehsil Rawalpindi are approved while 12 are under process. 47 housing projects were declared illegal by Town Municipal Administration, Potohar Town, Tehsil, Rawalpindi. Two housing schemes were approved by TMA Murree, tehsil, Murree including Bahria Golf City and Dream Valley Housing Scheme while Pakistan Atomic Energy Employees Cooperative Housing Society is under process.
Similarly, a housing scheme namely Commoners Sky Garden, Angoori Road, tehsil Murree was approved by RDA. Five schemes of tehsil Murree are under process in RDA. 49 housing projects being run in Tehsil Murree have been declared illegal by the authorities concerned. Five schemes of Tehsil Taxila are under process in RDA while 24 have been declared illegal.
Similarly, one project of Gujar Khan Tehsil namely Elegent City, Nigahil Pahlwan is under process in RDA while six have been declared illegal. Lake Marina Kotli Sattian is an illegal housing project in Kotli Sattian. RDA had directed the owners of illegal housing schemes to stop sale and purchase of the plots of their projects. The authority on the directive of Chairman RDA Muhammad Arif Abbasi had instructed the illegal housing societies to stop advertising their projects else strict action in accordance with the law would be taken.
The notices issued to the violators warned that if the development work and advertisements were not stopped immediately, RDA would seal their site offices. Recently, a housing scheme namely Bin Alam City was declared an illegal project. The authority while deciding to register a case against the project, directed the housing scheme to stop its illegal publicity campaign and issued a notice under the Punjab Private Housing Scheme and Land sub-division rules 2010 to stop advertisement of the illegal housing scheme forthwith.