Residents slam DHA for imposing ‘hefty charges’

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

Residents of the Defence Housing Authority have prepared a report against the DHA administration for demanding hefty “refurbishment charges” from property owners.

A joint report compiled by the Association of Defence Residents (ADR) and the Defence Society Residents’ Association (DSRA) said the DHA had supposedly imposed the “refurbishment charges” to recover Rs2.25 billion it spent on storm drains.

The DSRA estimates that the DHA administration may collect Rs10-12 billions under the head of refurbishment charges. It is far greater an amount than what the DHA claims it spent on storm water drains, the report says.

According to the residents, they cannot transfer their property or get a completion certificate unless they pay the refurbishment charges.

The report says that the DHA residents had termed the refurbishment charges illegal and unethical when it was imposed. “Former DHA administrator Brig Kamran Kazi, who had started work on the storm water drainage system, used to say that he was doing it as he felt it was the duty of the DHA as a developer of the area to have built this a long time ago. He never even mentioned that the residents will be sent a bill for the DHA’s negligence,” the report adds.

The residents say although all development work in developed phases of the DHA has been completed, the Authority continues to expand its presence and commercial activities.

The DHA had vowed in a court of law that it will not receive any financial support from any governmental or non-governmental organisation, except for what it has collected or collects from the DHA residents, the report says. “As per the DHA’s 2009 financial statement, the DHA spent more than one billion rupees under the head of salaries, wages and benefits.”