CDA Won't Bulldoze Katchi Abadis Without Court's Green Light

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad's civic authority has drawn a firm line on one of the capital's most sensitive housing disputes: it will not touch Islamabad Katchi Abadis until the courts say so.

Dr. Anam Fatima, Chief Officer of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) and Director of the Directorate Municipal Administration (DMA), delivered a clear message. The Capital Development Authority, she said, answers to the law and to judicial orders first not to unilateral action because the matter of informal settlements in Islamabad currently sits sub judice.

Katchi Abadis Await Court Ruling

Dr. Anam pushed back on the idea that the CDA simply wants residents gone. Her teams are instead cross-checking official records, verifying land ownership, running field surveys, and weighing the specific circumstances of each settlement before making any move. She confirmed that the CDA framework already recognizes 10 Katchi Abadis outright. Every other settlement's fate hinges on a separate verification process one that examines paperwork, land titles, and legal compliance settlement by settlement rather than through a blanket policy.

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That distinction matters, she stressed, because informal settlements are not purely a housing question. They touch environmental protection, sanitation, drainage, solid-waste management, public health, road access, fire safety, and long-term urban planning all at once and treating the issue as one-dimensional would ignore the bigger picture.

G-7 Problems Raise Alarm

G-7, where residents are reportedly dumping garbage straight into the drainage system. She warned that blocked drains don't just look bad they trap stagnant water, breed disease, generate foul odours, and turn into serious hazards once monsoon season hits. She also flagged unauthorized commercial shops that have sprung up inside G-7 homes, activities the CDA will now examine strictly against approved land-use rules and municipal law.

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Relevant authorities have already compiled recommendations covering legal status, CDA jurisdiction, records availability, and which government departments carry responsibility going forward, according to Dr. Anam. She insisted that whatever the CDA does next will rest on verified facts, not guesswork and will factor in court rulings, legal provisions, environmental risk, public interest, and the rights of residents caught in the middle.

She also turned the spotlight on residents themselves, urging them to stop dumping waste into drains, halt unauthorized construction, and fall in line with municipal and environmental regulations. A lasting fix, she argued, demands cooperation between residents, local representatives, and government departments alike sanitation, drainage, and waste management won't improve through enforcement alone.

Dr. Anam closed by repeating her central point: the CDA will abide by whatever the courts decide on Katchi Abadis, full stop. No unilateral demolitions, no shortcuts. The goal, she said, is an approach that stays lawful and practical, protects residents' rights, and safeguards Islamabad's environment while keeping the capital's urban development on track.