The Civil Defense Department has issued a red notice to the proprietors of 280 unlawfully built properties along the banks of ten main storm drains, demanding them to produce NOCs and paperwork within 48 hours.
On the directives of Deputy Commissioner Tahir Farooq, a survey has been launched to collect information regarding properties on the lands and banks of drains.
The notices have been given to owners whose homes cover the banks of storm drains in Rehmatabad, Dhoke Munshi, Jabbi, Jaba, Ghausia Colony, Dhoke Mai Sarwar, low-lying sections of Scheme 3, Gulistan Colony, Peoples Colony, Tench Bhata, Dhoke Syedan, Jan Colony, and Adra.
Civil Defense Department Senior Instructor Sadaf Zahoor told the media that the orders were given in accordance with Civil Defense 1951 Rules Sections 10 and 14, which allow the department to serve red notices on the owners of structures that endanger human lives.
The source added that the survey is still ongoing and that at least 150 to 200 additional building owners will receive similar warnings based on a realistic estimate.
From the beginning of these storm drains to the point where they enter the River Soan and the Nullah Leh, “Our crews are continuously assessing the homes erected alongside these storm drains,” stated Sadaf Zahoor
“To stay up to date on the records relevant to this problem, we are in contact with the Municipal Corporation, Rawalpindi Development Authority, district council, and cantonment board.”
The official said that returning the storm drains to their pre-flooding condition would go a long way in eliminating the possibility of flooding in any portions of Rawalpindi once and for all, adding that they would reach their goal in the next two weeks.
Only stamp papers from about 35 of the building’s owners have been presented to the involved authorities, and these papers are worthless in their view.
Anyone who steps forward with further proof will need to have their registrations confirmed by the registrar’s office.
Aside from the difficulty caused by mountains of trash and garbage clogging the drains, unauthorized constructions on the site have threatened lives and property in the region.
According to an RCB source, the warnings given to the owners of the aforementioned structures demanded to submit their respective building plans, failing which the designated properties will be demolished.
