Legislative changes mandatory before allowing RCB to regulate ‘H’ sectors: CDA

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has notified the federal government that necessary legislative changes were required before allowing the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) to regulate ‘H’ series sectors of Islamabad.

According to media reports, the issue of overlapping boundaries among civic agencies is still undecided.

Sources privy to the matter said that last week a meeting was held at the Cabinet Division, wherein officials of the CDA law wing said that without the required legislative changes, the RCB could not take control of CDA’s sectors. It was pondered that the RCB wanted to take control of the three sectors only to impose its regulations, provide municipal services and collect taxes. It clarified that the sectors would remain part of Islamabad.

“We shared our point of view in detail. It was decided that the CDA could be asked for its opinion in writing for moving ahead,” a CDA official said.

Participants of the meeting were apprised that without making necessary amendments to the CDA Ordinance 1960 and the Republic Ordinance 1963, the civic authority could not exclude the sectors from its jurisdiction.

It must be remembered that over the years, the matter of overlapping boundaries has been discussed in a series of meetings in which the Cantonment Board claimed ownership of 2,509 acres in numerous sectors of the federal capital.

Last year, the RCB and CDA had agreed in principle that the latter would back off from its claim on land in Islamabad, and the control of three un-acquired sectors – H-13, H-14, and H-15 – would be excluded from the capital’s boundaries.

The CDA law wing said that the RCB had also moved a summary to the federal government through the Ministry of Defence, asking for necessary changes to the law to exclude the three sectors from Islamabad’s jurisdiction.

In response, the CDA did not oppose the move but said that legislation was mandatory for this purpose.