ISLAMABAD: In what residents are calling another real estate controversy worth billions of rupees, the Capital Development Authority has issued notices to more than a hundred houses in Tele Gardens Housing Scheme, Islamabad, declaring them illegal and built on designated green areas.
According to documents reported by Islamabad based journalist, the CDA’s enforcement wing served notices to around 127 residents over the past week.
The notices state that all houses and buildings constructed on the green area marked in the approved Lay Out Plan of Tele Gardens are unauthorised. With the current market value of a single house estimated at Rs45 million, the total value of the properties now under threat exceeds Rs5.7 billion.
According to the reporter, Tele Gardens Housing Scheme is part of the Multi-Professional Cooperative Housing Society, owned by property tycoon Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, who also developed Faisal Hills and Sector B-17. The scheme was formally approved on February 18, 2005. However, the notice received by residents claims that the land in question was transferred to the CDA on June 24, 2005, through a transfer deed, just four months after the scheme’s approval. The CDA maintains that subsequent construction on the area earmarked as green in the Lay Out Plan violates its regulations.
The move has sparked strong resentment among homeowners, who accuse the CDA of targeting middle-class families while rewarding what they called the “powerful land mafia”.
Residents said it has become the habit of CDA officers to “ruin the poor and salute the rich”. They argued that the plots were sold to them years ago by Chaudhry Majeed of B-17 and payments were made in full. “He has collected the money and gone to Sahid, while the common people are stuck,” one homeowner said.
Residents drew parallels with recent CDA operations in Bari Imam and its surroundings, where hundreds of houses were demolished. “After Bari Imam, the CDA is now turning towards Tele Gardens,” they said.
Affected families have appealed to the Prime Minister to take notice of the issue, questioning why action is being taken nearly two decades after the scheme was approved and plots were sold. “Where was the CDA when the Lay Out Plan was being violated? Why are ordinary buyers being punished for the alleged collusion between developers and officials?” residents asked.
