Islamabad: CDA allows high-rises without upgrading water and sewarage network

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Fazal Sher
ISLAMABAD: The decades old sewerage system will further deteriorate in the federal capital, especially in Blue Area, as the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has allowed construction of high-rises without initiating any plan to upgrade the sewage lines, a senior town planner in the CDA told Daily Times.

According to Islamabad’s original master plan, construction of four-storey buildings was allowed at Blue Area, he said, adding, at that time the town planners had laid down sewage lines keeping in view the load of four-storey buildings’ sewage.

He said pressure on the present sewage system started increasing when CDA reviewed the original master plan in 1980s and allowed construction of six-storey buildings on the southern side of Jinnah Avenue, while on the northern side high-rises up to 19-storey were allowed. “The CDA reviewed the master plan but did not bother to make a plan to upgrade the sewerage system according to the requirement of the buildings,” he said.

The official said Benazir Bhutto during her second tenure as prime minister had strictly directed CDA to ban construction of high-rises in Blue Area and follow the original master plan.

The CDA banned construction of multi-storey buildings for few years but again allowed their construction in the city’s commercial centre, he said.

He said presently a 40-storey building was under construction at Blue Area and if the authority allowed construction of more such buildings it would badly affect the already deteriorated sewerage system. “ It was CDA’s responsibility to up-grade the sewerage system according to the requirement of multi-storey buildings before giving permission for their construction,” he said.

The official said the planning wing and water and sewerage directorates of CDA had informed the high-ups that the decision of high-rises construction would badly affect the currently over loaded sewerage system. The CDA high-ups do not consult the town planners in most of the cases, which was the main reason for such wrong decisions, he added.

In most of the big cities of the world the authorities first up-grade services like sewerage and water supply system before allowing construction of high-rises, said the official.

The official said if the present sewerage system was unable to borne the pressure of current sewerage load then how it would carry the sewage of more multi-storey buildings? He said overflowing gutters could be seen at every commercial centre in the city due to heavy pressure of sewage, which was not only affecting city’s beauty but was also a health hazard.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...008_pg11_1