ISLAMABAD – The city managers have been bearing the brunt of their past practices - where they never prioritised to shun the menace of violations of building bye-laws in real terms - coupled with flexible, indeed flawed, laws always shielding, patronaging and accommodating such violators, thus delaying the process of justice in this regard.
Unsealing of as many as seven residential units and three agro farms, which were sealed around a month ago by the Enforcement Directorate of the Authority during a much-hyped operation against nonconforming use of residential units, has exposed not only the authority of concerned directorates of the civic body but also the legal provisions, which in this specific case went in favour of violators rather the enforcing authority.
At the advent of November 2012, the Capital Development Authority has kicked off an operation against some 1200 violators of building byelaws across the federal capital. During the operation that lasted for two weeks the Authority managed to seal around 17 residential units and some six agro farms.
Thanks to the cumbersome legal procedures, the owners of three agro farms managed to obtain stay orders from the courts and unsealed their farms, leaving the city managers stunned as usual. While, the owners of some seven residential units even did not bother to take any such legal cover and unsealed their houses at their own.
And now the ‘poor’ city managers have decided to approach Islamabad Police for registration of first information reports (FIRs) against those violators who unsealed their houses, according to a press release issued by the public relations directorate of the Authority.
“The Building Control Directorate has approached the Senior Special Magistrate/Additional Collector (Recovery) of CDA requesting them to initiate the legal proceedings against the violators of these unsealed premises, subsequently, the Senior Special Magistrate of CDA has requested the Islamabad Police for lodging FIR against owners of seven violators of different houses situated in Sector F-6 and F-7,” the release said.
The houses which are unsealed by the occupants include House No 40, Street No 32, F-6/1 (Zaash Boutique), House No 15, School Road, F-6/1, (Vostro Club), House No 39, Street No 32, F-6/1 (Enrouge Boutique), House No 20, 7th Avenue, Sector   F-6/1 (Living Options, Furniture and Décor), House No 42, Street No 20, F-7/2 (Sony Centre), House No 15-A, Street No 18, F-7/2 (Depilex Saloon) and House No 2 Street No 37, F-7/4 (Innovations Show Rooms).
The CDA has so far identified more than 1200 houses in the Federal Capital falling under non-conforming use of residential quarters, where offices, schools, hostels, embassies, restaurants, and guesthouses are established.
The nonconforming use is not only a sheer violation of CDA bylaws but has also become a permanent source of unrest as well as security threat to the residents of adjacent residential areas.