Despite the fact that it is legally obligated, the civic authority has admitted that as many as 400 unauthorised and illegal constructions were built in the capital, including some posh localities.The confession by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) was made in documents the body had submitted to the Islamabad High Court recently. According to the documents, as many as 403 violations were detected in sectors F-6, F-7, F-8, F-10, F-11, G-6, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-11, I-8, I-9 and I-10 of the capital.Moreover, CDA said that it had discovered 214 violations in the F series, 129 in G series and 60 in I series.To add insult to injury, these violations were in addition to the 109 societies which the CDA had already declared as “illegal”.As per CDA’s interim report filed to the IHC regarding “illegal” or “unauthorised” construction, a mosque located in Sector F-7 and G-7, shops and plazas apparently named after religious personalities and places, several fuel stations, lawyers’ offices, restaurants, hotels, clinics, tea stalls, a supermarket in Sector G-6, a National Database Regulatory Authority (NADRA) office in Sector G-8, are among the violators.Moreover, the report stated that 12 violations had been committed in the Diplomatic Enclave located in Sector G-5. In this regard, CDA noted that most buildings in the Diplomatic Enclave had built additional stories and mezzanine floors in violation of the rules.Giving details of action taken by the CDA over these violations, the report stated that 112 plots had been cancelled for violating bylaws.The report had been submitted to the IHC after Justice Athar Minallah directed the civic agency to produce the complete record of completion certificates and violations committed by anyone in the capital.The directions came after 38 affectees of the One Constitution Avenue (OCA) case drew court’s attention towards the fact that thousands of flat owners in the city could be termed as squatters, trespassers or illegal occupants because they do not possess completion certificates.People who had bought flats in the under-construction building of OCA, meant for the Grand Hyatt Hotel, had approached the court seeking directions for CDA to act without discrimination and immediately against all illegally constructed and occupied buildings. The petitioners had claimed that some of the high-profile buildings in the capital such as the shopping plazas, hotels and offices of key government departments such as the Stock Exchange building, OGDCL, “have not obtained the mandatory completion certificate and yet, admittedly, have been illegally occupied”.In reply to the notice, CDA’s counsel Kashif Ali Malik said that allegations regarding the selective application of the law and statutory enforcement are “incorrect and misplaced.”Malik argued that owners of these buildings had been issued notices to apply for completion certificates. Failing to do so would lead to legal action.Moreover, he added that utility providers such as the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) and the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) have been asked to stop providing connections to buildings and structures without prior approval from the CDA.Building Control AuthorityMeanwhile, the documents submitted to the court have revealed that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was in consultation with the relevant authorities to set up a Building Control Authority (BCA) in the Islamabad Capital Territory. Once the BCA is formed, CDA’s counsel said that the authority will control and implement policies, by-laws for buildings being constructed and maintained in the capital.He added that steps regarding proposed legislation for setting up the authority were also being looked into.The OCA petitioners, however, have urged the high court to direct the civic body to fulfil its statutory obligation without fetter or preference to anyone, to cancel forthwith utility services to buildings to whom completion certificates and occupancy rights have not been issued.Published in The Express Tribune, May 3, 2017.