islamabad - The Capital Development Authority is all set to revise penalties and scrutiny fee for approval of plans and issuance of completion certificates as a summary has been prepared to be tabled before the CDA Board soon, The Nation has learnt.
The summary suggests almost 100 percent increase in the fees and penalties. If the increase is approved, there would be no further use of basement in commercial buildings for business purposes. At present, a fee of Rs 600 per square yard of the plot area is being charged for opening the basement for commercial use, according to the officials. They said the fees under each and every head are being almost doubled to generate more revenue for the Authority. The rates are being revised after some 13 years.
According to the proposal, scrutiny fee for religious buildings meant for prayers/charity/welfare would be enhanced from Rs 1 to Rs 2 per square foot of proposed covered area or Rs 10,000 which is more. Scrutiny fee for residential buildings will be enhanced from Rs 3 to Rs 6 per square foot for the proposed covered area or Rs 10,000, whichsoever is higher. Similarly the BCS directorate has proposed to enhance scrutiny fee of amenity offices/buildings from Rs 5 to Rs 10 per square foot for proposed covered area or Rs 20,000, whichsoever is higher. Scrutiny fee for commercial buildings including flats/apartments and offices etc in commercial areas is proposed to be increased from Rs 10 to Rs 20 per square foot of proposed covered area or Rs 30,000 which is more. The fee for foreign diplomatic offices has been proposed to be enhanced from Rs 10 to Rs 20 per square foot of proposed covered area or Rs 30,000 which is more. Fee for issuance of completion certificate has been proposed to be fixed the same as is for approval of the plan. According to the summary, fee for revalidation of approved plans for all types of buildings, if there is no change in the approved plan, shall be at the rate of 10 percent of normal approval fee subject to minimum of Rs 2000. As far as penalty for incorrect construction at plinth level stage is concerned, compounding charges have been proposed to be revised from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 lump sum. The fine for residential and non-commercial buildings has been proposed to be enhanced from Rs 10 to Rs 25 per square foot of plinth area while fine for commercial buildings would be revised from Rs 20 to Rs 50 per square foot of plinth area, according to the proposal. In case of residential/non-commercial buildings, penalty for non-verification at plinth level stage has been proposed to be increased from Rs 2 to Rs 5 per square foot of plinth area while in case of commercial buildings; the penalty would be enhanced from Rs 5 to Rs 10 per square foot of the plinth area.
Similarly, fine for illegal connections to sewerage lines into nullahs has been suggested to be increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000 at each inspection for houses and buildings of less than 1000 square feet. The fine for commercial and other types of buildings would be enhanced from Rs 100,000 to Rs 150,000 at each inspection.
Compounding charges under the head of miscellaneous charges/penalties has been proposed to be enhanced from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000. Similarly, fine for less height and width of rooms would be increased from Rs 1000 to Rs 1500 per inch of less height /width while fine for less area of rooms/kitchen/bathrooms would be increased from Rs 1000 to Rs 1500 per square foot of the less area.
Penalty for starting construction without approval of plans in the Blue Area, marakaz, apartments and flats sites would be increased from Rs 100 to Rs 150 per square foot while penalty for initiating construction of all other commercial/residential buildings without approval of plans would be increased from Rs 50 to Rs 100 per square foot.
Charges for carrying out addition/alteration (not more than 10 percent) in the existing houses without approval of revised plan would be increased from Rs 25 to Rs 40 per square foot. At present, commercialization charges for non/commercial/specific commercial plots of I&T centres has been fixed at Rs 3000 per square yards of the plot area which, according to the proposal, will be determined by the Costing section in future. Furthermore, charges for change of use from residential to offices, offices to commercial, storage to offices/commercial use, in the Blue area and marakaz would also be calculated by the Costing section. The summary in this regard would be tabled before the CDA board for approval soon, said the CDA officials.
