The Punjab government is planning to reduce the powers of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR) to legitimize private housing schemes.
It will grant powers pertaining to the issuance of no objection certificates (NOCs) to the Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency (PHATA).
Meanwhile, District Administration has rejected the move because various residential schemes, including Blue World City Housing Society, acquired land in the army-prohibited zones.
Reportedly, the above-mentioned housing scheme has attempted to earn profits under the guise of the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme and has applied for a NOC at PHATA.
In this regard, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Rawalpindi, has requested more details about the housing society from the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) since it is already facing several criminal cases in the courts.
In 2017, RDA granted a clearance certificate to Blue World but withdrew it after a few months. In addition, it also wrote to the departments such as Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO), PEMRA, Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL), and Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), to stop giving amenities to the society in question.
As quoted by the News, the Director General (DG) of RDA, Saif Anwar Jappa, said that they have filed litigation against the society, which is underway at the Rawalpindi Bench of Lahore High Court (LHC).
He further told that he has written to the PHATA that RDA will not grant clearance certificates to illegal housing schemes, adding that he is investigating the matter regarding the issuance of NOC to Blue World City by RDA.
It has been reported that over 100,000 families have suffered at the hands of the illegal housing society after RDA issued it a clearance certificate and then withdrew it.