RCB Official Terms Illegal Constructions Reason for Traffic Mess

[LRE-Azan]

RAWALPINDI: In the densely populated regions of the cantonment, illegal building operations have caused traffic chaos while being a headache for the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB).


In violation of the bylaws, people have built buildings in residential zones, a senior RCB officer told the sources.

According to the legislation, he said, only two-story houses may be built on a street that was less than 16 feet wide, but in some areas, residents had built three-story residences.

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He stated that Saddar, the primary commercial center of the cantonment districts, and other marketplaces are running out of parking space every day because building by-laws are being disregarded.

The legislation requires plazas to provide space for parking, yet buildings have been built without adequate parking, forcing motorists to park their cars on the sides of the road, causing congestion on major roadways, he added.

The official noted that while in the past the building control branch had undertaken a survey every 6 months to look for infractions of the building bylaws, no such study had been done in the previous 6 months.

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The sources informed that during the monsoon, a survey was carried out and action was initiated to demolish unlawful buildings next to nullahs and drains, but the operation was immediately put on hold once the rainy season ended.

The RCB official stated that residential premises were also being exploited for commercial purposes, but no action had been taken by the civic body.

He said that certain political parties had established secretariats on Peshawar Road without first obtaining consent from the local government.

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Secretary General Zafar Qadri of the Rawalpindi Cantonment Traders Association said that although the cantonment board had received property taxes and other levies from them, it had not given them access to amenities.

He said that the traders’ organization would assist the local body in implementing the building by-laws but that it was uninterested.

Besides, he also claimed that as individuals erected three to four-story houses without a license, the pace of unlawful construction in residential areas rose significantly.