Building plan violations cause huge losses to RDA

[Salman]

Construction without required approved building plan has been on the rise in around a dozen housing schemes but Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has failed to take stern action against violators due to political influence.

RDA could add millions of rupees to its kitty under the head of building plan violations but officials are keeping silent and sitting idle over the issue.

An RDA official, on condition of anonymity, said that crackdown against building plan violations could not only generate millions of rupees for the body but also stop the illegal practice.

“Political influence is the biggest impediment in the operation against building plan violations. RDA officials get suspended whenever they take action against violators as politicians make telephone calls to higher-ups and stop operations,” he added.

He said that housing schemes under the control of RDA were also found on the same page as illegal construction could not be stopped there.

Stern crackdown against illegal construction could prove a ‘money spinning process’ for RDA which would ultimately help the body to finance various pending uplift projects in the garrison city, he said. However, frequent intervention by political heavyweights of the city was the hurdle and as a result the authority is suffering, he added.