Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) on the directives of Director General (DG) Muhammad Saif Anwar Jappa has warned the marketing companies advertising illegal housing schemes of strict action. According to a RDA spokesman, the authority had issued notices to three marketing companies namely Sky Marketing, Ghafari Marketing and Wirasat.com for running promotional campaigns of illegal housing schemes and directed to stop such campaigns to promote the housing projects which are not approved by the authorities concerned.
He informed RDA had stopped the illegal housing societies within its jurisdiction from running any marketing campaigns and selling plots.
He said MP&TE Directorate RDA issued notices as the marketing companies were running promotional campaign about projects of the aforesaid illegal housing schemes.
He said the DG had directed the authorities to take action against the rules violators. The promotion of the housing schemes which are not legal and approved is illegal under 46(1) of Punjab Development Authorities Private Housing Scheme Rules-2021, he added.
He informed that the owners of the marketing companies were warned that they should not become part of the illegal activity otherwise legal action would be taken against the rules violators.
RDA has been active to curb the increasing number of fake housing societies within its jurisdiction, he said adding, actions were taken like sealing the site offices of unlawful housing projects. Moreover, RDA informed the general public of illegal housing societies and advised them not to invest in such projects, he added. RDA had also stopped the unlawful societies from advertising on Television as well as other digital mediums until and unless they get a duly approved No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the authority.
In this regard, MP&TE Directorate of RDA had also lodged FIRs against illegal housing schemes operating within the premises of Rawalpindi. These societies were directed to obtain the NOC before advertising or starting to sell plots.
He said Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was also requested to take action against illegal housing societies that were using digital media such as social media for marketing. The DG had also advised the general public to stay attentive to such projects and always check their legal status before putting in any money, he added.
