Commercial use of residential units goes unabated

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

ISLAMABAD - The Capital Development Authority (CDA) virtually seems incapacitated to shun the ongoing practice of non-confirming use of residential units across the Federal Capital resulting unexampled surge in violations.
Seriousness of the Authority to curb this practice is witnessed from the fact that during year 2010, astonishingly, the concerned directorate did not carryout any comprehensive survey of residential areas to ascertain the scale of non-confirming use of residential units.
The last survey was conducted during the year 2009 after the directions of Senate Standing Committee on Interior. ­According to record compiled by the Building Control Directorate in 2009, 835 houses were being used commercially in residential areas of the Capital. 345 houses out of 835 were being used as offices of international organisations including 91 foreign embassies, 97 as guesthouses, six as restaurants, 259 as schools and 128 for other businesses such as beauty parlours and clinics.
When asked why CDA had not carried out any survey during the whole year, a top official of the Building Control Directorate in a bizarre style said, “It is a continuous offence and Authority time-to-time serve notices to the violators, however, it is practically impossible to implement the defined penalties under CDA’s 1993 byelaws in this regard.”
Another official said that it was a matter of grave concern that hundreds of cases were laying pending in this regard with the court of law as violators after receiving notices from CDA managed to get stay orders on one or the other pretext.