RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has advised the citizens against investing in illegal and unlicensed housing schemes.
According to Chairman RDA Tariq Mehmood Murtaza, the citizens had been advised to check the status of the housing societies at the RDA’s Metropolitan Planning and Traffic Engineering (MP&TE) Directorate or on the RDA’s official website rda.gop.pk.
He informed that RDA was regularly conducting raids against illegal housing schemes and strict action in accordance with the law was being taken against the rules violators.
The Chairman said that the Authority was enforcing the regulations against violators such
as plazas, stores, schools, residential and commercial construction and other illegal land use encroachments on a daily basis.
Tariq Mehmood Murtaza asked the citizens not to invest in illegal and unauthorized housing schemes and check status of the housing societies before any investment.
The RDA spokesman informed that the authorities concerned on the directives of Director General, Muhammad Saif Anwar Jappa had accelerated RDA’s ongoing operations against illegal constructions and sealed 31 commercial buildings, lodged nine FIRs and demolished three offices of illegal private housing societies in November.
RDA demolished five under construction commercial structures and sealed 11 commercial buildings on Shahpur Syedan Road Rawalpindi.
The Land Use and Building Control (LU&BC) Wing RDA while carrying out an operation against unauthorized and illegal commercial buildings took action in accordance with the law against the rules violators.
He said MP&TE Directorate had also demolished boundary wall of one illegal private housing scheme namely Countryside Farms at Moza Raatyal, Mohra Koyain, Chak Beli Khan Road, Rawat, Rawalpindi.
The Directorate also lodged FIR against a housing scheme namely Countryside Farms (Countryside Residencia) housing scheme at Moza Kalyam Mughal, Rawat Rawalpindi, he added.
He said, RDA had also sealed 20 shops on Link Bajnial Road, in Moza Pind Nasrala Rawalpindi.
He informed that grand operation against unauthorized constructions was in full swing and the authority was trying to control illegal development of unauthorized projects.
He informed that the authority had already lodged FIRs against two illegal housing schemes
namely Mivida City and Abdullah City at Chakri Road. Any advertisement on their part would be an attempt to deceive the citizens as they are illegal, he said.
RDA had also lodged FIRs against three illegal housing schemes namely Budget Agro Farms, Countryside Farms at Chak Beli road Rawalpindi and Kalyam City, Rawat Rawalpindi, he informed.
He clarified that Green Lake City was a fake housing scheme and advertisements by the housing scheme particularly on social media were illegal.
MP&TE Directorate had also directed the administration of illegal housing schemes to stop marketing of their unapproved and illegal housing schemes on print, electronic and social media and contact the authorities concerned of RDA to get NoC and approval of the scheme
as per law.
Talking to APP the spokesman said MP&TE Directorate had requested Federal Investigation Agency, Cyber Crime Cell, Overseas Pakistanis Foundation, SNGPL, District Collector Rawalpindi, District Council Rawalpindi, PEMRA, and Commissioner Islamabad about illegal advertisements of private housing schemes on social media.
He said some owners and developers were wrongly claiming that they got NoC from RDA, adding, status of the housing schemes could be verified from RDA’s official website.
The spokesman said that three booking offices of illegal housing schemes namely Capital Floora Valle at ‘Thatha Gorakhpur’ Road and two illegal sub-division offices at ‘Tarahia Gorakhpur’ road had been demolished.
FIRs have been lodged against these three illegal housing schemes, he said adding, the owners and sponsors of the illegal housing schemes were misleading the public through advertisements.
