Rawalpindi: The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has declared 293 private housing schemes operating without proper approval as illegal and warned the public against investing in them. The authority has also announced that strict legal action will be taken against the owners and developers of these projects.
On the directions of the Commissioner Rawalpindi and Director General RDA, Engineer Aamer Khattak, the Metropolitan Planning and Traffic Engineering (MP&TE) Directorate issued a public advisory detailing the violations. The affected areas fall under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi as well as tehsil and district councils of Taxila, Gujar Khan, Kallar Syedan, and Kahuta.
The RDA said violations include launching schemes without approval, submitting incomplete applications, unauthorized development, illegal marketing, booking, sale or transfer of plots, and major deviations from approved plans. Authorities identified these violations through site inspections, ground surveys, public complaints, and monitoring of print, electronic, and social media.
The RDA has initiated legal action, including issuing statutory notices, filing FIRs, sealing offices and project sites, demolishing illegal structures, banning land transactions, referring cases to the FIA Cyber Crime Wing, and prosecuting violators in accordance with the law. Developers have been directed to immediately cease all illegal activities, with further action promised for non-compliance.
The authority strongly advised the public, including overseas Pakistanis and investors, to verify the approval status of any housing scheme on the RDA website before making property transactions, warning that terms such as “file submitted” or “under process” do not constitute formal approval.
The RDA emphasized that it will not be responsible for any financial losses incurred through transactions involving unauthorised or illegal housing schemes.
Samra Zulfiqar, a real estate analyst at Zameen.com, is passionate about finding projects that offer buyers the best returns. Her keen insights spotlight the market’s most promising opportunities.
