CDA, SUPARCO to sign MoU for satellite imaging of capital

[Salman]

CDA, SUPARCO to sign MoU for satellite imaging of capital



ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Monday for providing satellite imaging of Islamabad.

According to CDA Administration Member Aamir Ali Ahmed, this agreement would help the authority eradicate encroachments in the city and facilitate future planning by using latest technology to minimise human involvement, particularly during the award of new sectors.

The administration member will sign the MoU on behalf of the CDA.

Aamir Ali said the CDA, with the help of SUPARCO, would root out encroachments from Islamabad by using the overlay imaging technique.

The decision was made on Friday during a meeting between SUPARCO representatives and the CDA administration member, which was held at the CDA Secretariat in Islamabad.

“To wipe out encroachments from the city, the CDA will utilise latest satellite imaging techniques available with SUPARCO,” said Aamir Ali.

Sharing details of the MoU, he said satellite images would be taken in four different phases. In the first step, SUPARCO would provide the data of satellite images of the last five years. He said by using the overlay imaging technique the authority would be able to identify encroachments made in the last five years.

Aamir said in the second phase – to check the ongoing encroachments – Islamabad would be divided into 34 parts and SUPARCO would monitor each part by taking new satellite images after every 15 days, and identify encroachments by comparing the previous and the new images.

In the third phase, he said, SUPARCO would take satellite image of every newly acquired area of Islamabad at the time of award, showing all the built-up property – indicating the number of houses in the area – which would be compared with the awards to check subsequent encroachments or increase in the number of houses to make the process more transparent as well as to minimise human involvement. The administration member said in the fourth phase of the project a digital map of Islamabad would be made, including the rural areas.

The map would indicate each building of the capital, including schools, hospitals, dams and shopping centres, to keep a check on the increase in housing needs and help in future planning, he added.