MCI Tightening the Net around the Illegal Housing Schemes

Islamabad: In a move to make the real estate business scam- free and transparent, The district administration has further imposed a ban on all sorts of advertisements of 140 Illegal Housing Societies In Islamabad that are not having No Objection Certificate(NOC) from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and operating illegally in the jurisdiction of Islamabad Capital Territory(ICT). In Zone 1, The official documents show, there are 20 illegal housing societies, 7 in Zone II; 7 in Zone III; 77 in Zone IV; and 29 in Zone V of the federal capital.

The official notification issued by the district administration states that “Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) has decided to ban within the Capital Territory all sorts of advertisements (including but not limited to steamers, boards, banners, etc) regarding housing societies and projects that do not reflect CDA’s valid NOC thereon.” The notification also makes it clear that the action against illegal schemes will be impartial, “The notification shall be applied across the board with immediate effect and without any discrimination and any violation thereof shall be dealt with strictly in accordance with relevant laws.” The notification also termed the marketing and advertisement without CDA NOC as illegal and unauthorized.

The official document also shows that 22 housing Schemes have got the NOC and 24 are in process of getting their NOC and there are more than 10 schemes whose NOCs are canceled by the civic agency. The notification further stated that “The notification shall be applied across the board with immediate effect and without any discrimination and any violation thereof shall be dealt with strictly in accordance with relevant laws.” The CDA in its message also stated “The Marketing/Advertisement of Housing Projects Without NOC From CDA is Illegal And Unauthorized.”

The notice also warns the general public of the possible fraud in the real estate business and said, “Through this notice, the general public is therefore cautioned/warned in their own interest to refrain from making any booking/purchase of plots in these or any other unauthorized and illegal housing scheme and must consult the authority (Tel. 051-9252494 for Zone-2, 5 & E-11 and office of Director Regional Planning, CDA for Zone-3 & 4 at 051-9252605) before making transactions about the legal status of the schemes”. The notification also directed the advertisers and marketing agencies to refrain from promoting illegal housing societies and they must verify their NOC before advertising them.