Overseeing measures for housing societies proposed

ISLAMABAD, March 31: A parliamentary body has proposed tough overseeing measures for the future and existing private housing societies in the capital. The sub-committee of the National Assembly`s House and Library Committee, which is headed by the deputy speaker, has made several recommendations in its 62-page report to bring transparency in the workings of the housing societies. According to a draft proposal available with Dawn , any negligence of the Capital Development Authority`s legal framework while dealing with the housing societies will land its officials in trouble. "With this proposed draft, the corruption would be easily detected at any stage by the National Accountability Bureau and the Federal Investigation Agency in case the CDA fails in performing its basic developmental responsibility in a transparent manner," the report said. The sub-committee has proposed to clip the powers of administrators, who run the show at the private housing societies. The committee wants to keep administrators away from purchasing and selling land and allotting plots. According to the proposals, the administrators` role should be limited to "holding elections" only. According to an official of the National Assembly, the sub-committee had also proposed to push the housing societies` general councils out of the monetary business, barring them from purchasing any land. But this proposal is linked to approval from the annual general meeting of a private housing society. The official said the report proposed to give CDA a "key role" in overseeing the private housing societies. "It is to block both â€" violations by housing societies and the authority ignoring them." The committee wants the authority to initiate criminal proceedings if its directions are violated at any stage of developing a private housing society. Countersigned by CDA, it proposes to authenticate all allotment letters issued by a housing society to ensure difference between residential, commercial and amenity plots. "All plans and building regulations are supposed to conform with the laws of CDA ordinance and no allotment letter or provisional transfer of even plots should bear any credence unless stamped and verified by planning directorate to block future land frauds," the report said. The rules, after getting approval from the main committee, will be sent to the National Assembly for discussion and approval.