CDA weighs amendments to G-6 Covered Market bylaws

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority is set to hold a public hearing on June 15 over proposed revisions to building bylaws and planning parameters for the plot allotted to the G-6-3/4 Covered Market, a site at the centre of a long-running dispute in the federal capital.

A letter issued by the CDA’s building control directorate on Tuesday said the acting director general for building and housing control will hear objections and comments at 2pm in his office. The letter was sent to 17 citizens, asking them to attend the proceedings.

The proposed changes relate to a plot originally designated for the historic Siraj Covered Market in G-6. The market, designed by a British architect, was built by the CDA as a single-storey inward-oriented structure before being leased to Mr Siraj in 1966. The civic agency is now considering allowing a multi-storey building on the site, but has said it will first hear the concerns of residents.

Long-running dispute over the site

The market was demolished around two decades ago after the CDA, in 2007, altered the building rules after the lease had already been granted and permitted the construction of a multi-storey commercial structure. Under those changes, the leaseholder was allowed 100 per cent ground coverage, a floor area ratio of 1:4, ground-plus-three storeys and two basements for parking. The leaseholder then razed the original market.

Residents objected to the move and approached the Supreme Court, prompting the CDA to retreat after the court restrained it from changing the bylaws. Since then, the plot has remained vacant, and the area has been without the market facility that had served residents’ daily needs.

The site lies along Begum Sarfraz Iqbal Road, a narrow service road leading towards the Prime Minister Secretariat from the Melody side. An official, speaking on the issue, said the original structure should ideally be rebuilt under its initial design because it had been part of the city’s cultural heritage.

The official said: "It was a single-storey building leased by CDA. Ideally, the same market under the original design prepared by a British architect should be restored, as it was a cultural heritage of the city. Allowing new bylaws will be sort of post-lease changes. Anyhow, if CDA is adamant in seeing a multi-storey shopping mall along the single Begum Sarfraz Road, which is already facing traffic congestion, the road should be dualised first,"

Earlier proposal and board review

The CDA had also sought public input on possible bylaw changes last year, and those who submitted views at the time now appear to have been invited to the June 15 hearing. Before that public consultation, the matter had been placed before the CDA board. In the summary moved by the planning wing, the board was not informed that the market had originally been constructed by the CDA itself before being leased out.

The planning wing had proposed fresh bylaws for a seven- to eight-storey structure with 50 per cent ground coverage, a floor area ratio of 1:4 and only one basement for parking. However, the board directed that no final decision on the bylaws could be taken without inviting objections and conducting public consultation. It decided that after the hearing and legal review, the matter would be sent back to the CDA board for a final decision.

In the summary, the then member planning told the board that a plot measuring 8,670 square yards in G-6/3 had been leased to Ch. Sirajuddin and others in 1966. The lease was granted for 30 years, expired in 1996 and was then extended for a second term until October 2026. The summary also stated that the original bylaws allowed only a single-storey inward-oriented building and that the structure remained in that form until its demolition in 2007-08. It further noted that after the CDA later amended the bylaws, neighbouring residents moved the Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court, leading to restraining orders against any such change.

CDA spokesperson Shahid Kiani confirmed that the public hearing would go ahead on June 15. He said the forum would hear concerns from nearby residents before issuing a formal order.

He stated: "The CDA will hold a public hearing. The designated forum will hear the apprehensions of nearby residents. Following that, a reasoned speaking order shall be passed,"