THE menace of illegal housing societies is far from over. Due to lack of action, there has been a mushroom growth of these societies across the country including the federal capital. It is estimated that the number of illegal housing societies is far higher than the legal ones. The situation warrants a serious and strict action on the part of civic agencies before more people are deprived of their life-long savings.
Chairing a meeting of the National Coordination Committee for Housing, Construction and Development on Thursday, Prime Minister Imran Khan directed the authorities concerned to take action on an emergency basis against the illegal housing projects. This is not the first time that the PM has given such a direction but it is unfortunate that such calls always fall on deaf ears. We, therefore, will suggest the PM to also take action against those officials not showing compliance to his orders. The fact of the matter is that these illegal housing societies cannot crop up without the black sheep that are present in the development agencies including Capital Development Authority (CDA). The enforcement wings should firstly be purged of such elements before taking action against the mafia. Indeed, there is no option for the civic agencies to regularize those housing societies where houses have been built in large numbers and people have started living there. But the owners of such societies should be heavily penalized and prosecuted. The concerned quarters should come into action when any illegal housing society starts development work on the piece of land. Most importantly, there is a need to publish lists of illegal housing projects so that the people refrain from investing in such projects. It is also for the people to obtain the complete information before making any investment. The CDA and other civic bodies also need to accelerate work on their housing projects to cater to the growing demand of housing units.
