Are these societies a part of Islamabad?

Housing societies located near a site set for the new Islamabad International Airport would not be included in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Brig Nusratullah, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) member planning, said on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters during a briefing on the status of housing societies in Islamabad, he said that these societies could be included in the ICT only if the parliament and the Punjab Assembly passed legislation recommending that they be made a part of the capital.

Managers of these societies earlier gave the impression that the areas surrounding the airport would fall in the capital. Most of the societies are registered with the Rawalpindi administration but their managers reportedly started propagating that they are part of the capital just days after the announcement of the groundbreaking ceremony of the new airport.

Sarwar Sindhu, the CDA director planning, told Daily Times that only the land on which the airport would be established and the road leading to it would come in the limits of the ICT. Nusratullah said the minimum size of a housing scheme in Zone-II was 800 kanals (100 acres) and 400 kanals (50 acres) in Sector E-11 and Zone-V. Previously, the minimum size of a society in Zone V was 1,600 kanals (200 acres).

He said the six-stage approval process for the housing schemes had been reduced to four stages that were named “Approval of Layout Plan”, “Approval of Engineering Designs”, “Issue of NOCs” and “Completion of Development Work”. He said that only six out of the all 14 housing schemes in Zone II had got valid no objection certificates (NOCs), three others had their layout plans approved while cases of the rest were either in the process or did not fulfill the criteria.

The Margalla View scheme has got an NOC for 1,118 residential plots, Khayaban-e-Kashmir for 2,516, Cabinet Division for 2,740, PR Housing Scheme for 931 and New Islamabad Gardens for 924 residential plots. The National Police Foundation Housing Scheme has also got the NOC but without mentioning its total plots.

Multi Gardens B-17, Tele Garden and the Ministry of Interior Housing Scheme have passed the stage of the Approval of the Layout Plan. In Zone V, only five out of the 30 housing schemes have got NOCs for a total of 13,668 plots. Those given NOCs are Soan Gardens, Zarj Housing Scheme, Bahria Town, Jeddah Town and Army Housing Scheme.

Naval Anchorage, River Gardens, Jinnah Gardens, AGOCHS-II, Morgah City, Parliamentarians Enclave, Al Hamra Avenue Housing Scheme and OPF Housing Scheme have passed the stage of the Approval of Layout Plan.

The CDA planning wing is examining land ownership and layout plans of Commoners Town Extension, AGOCH-I, CBR Employees Cooperative Housing Scheme, Jammu and Kashmir Cooperative Hosuing Scheme, Tele Town, Senate Avenue, Gulshan e Rehman, Airport Employees Cooperative Housing Scheme, Gulshan-e-Rabia and Commoners Town, according to official records.

Sindhu said a deadline for completion of development works has been set for those schemes, which were given NOCs. He said the 100-acre category schemes will have to complete development work in three years after the issue of the NOC, 100 to 200 acre category in four years, 200 to 400 acres in five years and 500 acre category schemes in six years.
Sourec: Daily Times