The Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation has announced to start an anti-encroachment drive against commercial buildings in Rawalpindi. The drive aims to check the status of buildings that are constructed without the approval of building plans. Under this operation, all kinds of encroachments and illegal construction will be removed from the city without any discrimination.
Many buildings and construction projects in Rawalpindi have been declared illegal by the government as they are built in violation of bylaws. Many residential zones have been converted into commercial outlets creating traffic hurdles.
Land encroachment is common in Pakistan due to outdated physical surveys and demarcation of land. Under the digital cadastral mapping project launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan, land worth trillions of dollars has been encroached all over Pakistan. An anti-encroachment drive has been started against illegal housing and development projects in different cities of the country. Recently, many buildings were legalised after fines were imposed on their owners.
The Government is making efforts to retrieve the land from encroachers. These efforts are also fuelled by the recent Supreme Court’s decision to allow demolition of infrastructure and other buildings on land encroachment cases. According to the Prime Minister, the state cannot retrieve illegally occupied land from encroachers without a thorough implementation of the rule of law. In addition, these anti-encroachment drives can also help attract investments from abroad as they will impart a positive sentiment regarding real estate regulations in Pakistan.
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