The CDA has cleared land for model graveyards in rural Islamabad, along with new green building rules, online grave monitoring and other key development decisions for the capital.
Land Allocated for Model Graveyards in Jabba and Pindorian
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) Board has approved the allocation of land for model graveyards in the rural areas of Jabba and Pindorian, giving Islamabad residents new, planned burial spaces. The decision was taken at a board meeting chaired by CDA Chairman and Islamabad Chief Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa and attended by senior officials and board members.
These model graveyards are meant to solve the increasing inadequacy of organised burial sites as well as to offer a less contaminated and a more respectable facility of funerals and burials. Through the pre-establishment of dedicated land, CDA will be able to ease the congestion in the current graveyards and prevent informal and haphazard burial of the dead people in rural areas of the capital.
Online Portal and Remote Grave Monitoring for Families
The development of a special site and web portal of the model graveyard project is also approved by the CDA Board to support the new graveyards. One of the most prominent characteristics will enable grieving families, including representatives of overseas Pakistan to view and observe graves remotely on the basis of digital records and mapping applications.
The online platform would contain data about the free plots, booking processes and fundamental services that would assist the families in controlling arrangements without having to visit CDA offices repeatedly. The remote access to the latest information concerning their graves is viewed as one of the greatest conveniences to the overseas Pakistanis who are unable to visit Islamabad regularly, as well as a means of remaining in touch with the graves of the loved ones.
OGRA Guidelines, LPG Plants and Greener Building Regulations
Along with graveyard planning, the CDA Board passed the adoption of OGRA guidelines and federal government policy on the storage and filling plant of LPG in Islamabad. This is an attempt to raise standards of safety, introduce uniformity of approvals and make LPG facilities run on transparent enforceable regulations.
The board also resolved to constitute a committee to scrutinize proposed amendments on the ICT Building Control Regulations 2023 and sanctioned amendments to the Islamabad Building Regulations 2023 on green infrastructure, rooftop and vertical gardening and landscaping. The following measures are directed to promote urban garden, to reduce the heat island effect and to harmonize the construction practices with the current and environment-friendly standards.
CDA-Owned Fuel Stations and Facelift for Older Buildings
The CDA Board has endorsed the deployment of CDA-owned fuel filling stations by using the public-private partnerships or joint ventures as a way of diversification of its revenue stream and enhancement of its service delivery. These stations would also result in extra revenue to the authority besides providing controlled fuel services in strategic points within the capital.
The chairman Randhawa also gave instructions to the officials to develop proposals on how to enhance the exterior look of older buildings particularly in the Blue Area. Now the CDA will consider the incentives of the property owners who do not forcefully upgrade their facades and this will assist the city in modernizing the main trading strip as well as enhance the visual perception of the strip to the residents, the visitors and investors.
Upcoming Auctions and Oversight of Islamabad High Court Project
The next set of auctions of residential and commercial plot was also cleared during the board meeting, which forms a major source of development cash with the authority. High profile auctions are generally of great attraction to investors and builders and can hasten the initiation of new housing and commercial developments in the capital.
In order to enhance control over large-scale state projects, the CDA Board approved contracting consultants to verify the construction of the Islamabad High Court building project third-party. The independent validation is supposed to take care of this by making sure that the quality standards, timelines and cost controls are well adhered to, which will make the judiciary as well as the citizens more confident about the way the project is implemented.
