By Imran Naeem Ahmad
ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) does things seemingly without extensive planning and regrets them later – having made what is a marvellous 7th Avenue, it has now realised that pedestrians have been ignored.
With people crossing this new road regularly, especially between sectors G-6 and G-7, town planners, perhaps in order to conceal their own folly, have put up notices warning pedestrians that the CDA would not be responsible in case of an accident.
For the poor people of these low-scale sectors, there is no choice but to run the risk of crossing the high-speed road, which neither provides for a pedestrian bridge nor a pavement for those living alongside.
Schoolchildren are particularly at risk, especially during the afternoon rush hours and this being the capital’s first signal-free road motorists often tend to over speed, thereby endangering not only their own lives but also those of others.
Many people have urged the CDA to provide some kind of passages for them to cross over safely while several others want pavements to be built on either sides of the road.
Fortunately, there have been no accidents involving pedestrians since the avenue, built at a cost of Rs 900 million, was inaugurated by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao.
Interestingly the problem of people crossing the road is common only in the vicinity of the sectors G-6 and G-7, while it is non-existent along the stretch bordering sectors F-6 and F-7.
“This perhaps is the difference between posh sectors where the high and mighty live and those that house low-paid employees,” said Tahir Shafi Chaudhry, a computer engineer living in Islamabad.
He said the children of well-to-do families of course did not have to cross roads for they had shiny new cars and chauffeurs to drop them off to school and bring them back. “The poor though have no such facility and, therefore, it is important that their needs are immediately addressed by the CDA,” he said.
The CDA, it is understood, plans to widen some of the entry points leading to the 7th Avenue and is also reportedly considering building pedestrian bridges to facilitate the people of G-6 and G-7 sectors. A CDA official said there were plans to make pavements along some portions of the road to make it safe for pedestrians.
But it is clearly a question of acting in haste and doing the planning later. “I wonder why it never occurred to the authorities that there were thousands of people living in adjacent sectors who would have to cross over regularly,” asked Aurangzeb Awan, a businessman.
The portion of the 7th Avenue alongside the sectors in question has virtually become a park for the residents who spend their evenings sitting on the newly developed green stretches.
But while people sit and watch traffic go by, it is the speeding motorists and the pedestrians casually crossing the road who pose a serious danger. It is an accident waiting to happen.
Government plans to ease rules for private housing schemes
* Local Government and Community Development Dept mulls lowering land requirement from 160 to 100 kanals
By Atif Nadeem
LAHORE: The Local Government and Community Development (LGCD) Department is thinking about amending a provision in the Punjab Private Site Development Housing Schemes Rules, reducing the requirement from 160 kanals to 100 kanals for someone wanting to get a private housing scheme approved by the government, officials told Daily Times on Saturday.
The Punjab government issued the rules on 2005. Officials said the rules provided a framework to help with the development of private housing schemes, while protecting the legitimate interests of landowners, potential buyers and the public. The rules state that the development authority or scrutiny committee will examine the application before approving a private housing scheme if the documents/requirements are complete, if the width of an access road is not less than 30 feet, if the scheme is safe from the danger of flooding, if the minimum area of the scheme is not less than 160 kanals and if the land is not required or has been notified by the government for any other purpose.
Officials said the main issue with approving housing schemes was that they did not cover the required 160 kanals of land. They said, “Developers start work without considering the area requirement. They sell plots and once a lot of plots are sold, they approach town authorities to have their schemes approved. LGCD has received many such cases where the towns have asked the department to approve schemes because plots in the housing schemes had been sold and the buyers were pressing for approval.” LGCD officials had met several times over the issue and had been thinking about decreasing the 160-kanal condition, officials added.
They said complaints and suggestions from the developers of small housing schemes were numerous, as it was difficult for them to find 160 kanals of land within or close to the city. Developers started selling plots without the approval of the town administrations, saying people had invested money in the scheme, which could not be abandoned now, officials said.
Officials said, “LGCD receives an application, takes 15 days to scrutinise it, seven days to send its recommendations to the town administration, which is the final authority over the issue. If the town administration disapproves, the developers have to stop the work.”
The rules also state a developer cannot advertise or publicise in any forum, media and press, nor shall plots or houses be offered for sale in any scheme prior to its sanction. Developers are bound to advertise locality, number of residential and commercial plots, a period of completion and total land area of their housing scheme under these rules. LGCD deputy secretary Mehmoodul Hassan told Daily Time that the department had been amending existing rules and working on building by-laws to make the system more efficient.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\09\17\story_17-9-2007_pg7_20
