News
CDA Cancels Bahria Town Phase III-E & IV Layout Plan in Islamabad
By Mariam Khan
Real Estate Analyst
6 min read
The Capital Development Authority has cancelled the layout plan of Bahria Town Phase III-E and IV in Zone-5, Islamabad, with immediate effect. According to a CDA order dated 14 September 2026, the housing scheme covers approximately 2,999 kanals and had received layout plan approval in December 2010.
Why CDA Says It Cancelled the Approval
CDA said Bahria Town (Pvt) Ltd failed to fulfil conditions attached to the original 2010 approval and did not complete the prerequisites for obtaining the scheme's No Objection Certificate despite the passage of around 15 years. The authority alleged that development work and sale of plots took place before the NOC was actually issued, which it said violated both the CDA Ordinance, 1960 and the Islamabad Capital Territory Zoning Regulations, 1992. CDA also cited violations of the approved layout plan itself, including construction on, and use of, plots specifically meant for public amenities, and said it had previously directed Bahria Town to vacate plots allocated for parks, playgrounds, open spaces, and public buildings.
The Documented Warnings That Preceded This Cancellation
This cancellation did not arrive without prior warning. CDA referred specifically to a final show cause notice issued in September 2025 over alleged violations and illegal structures within the scheme. The authority's own Departmental Accounts Committee had separately discussed illegal commercial buildings along Corniche Road within the scheme, and had ordered removal of structures built in the riverbed, graveyard, and park or open space areas.
The Court Ruling CDA Cited
CDA also referred to an Islamabad High Court order from September 2019, in which the court dismissed a Bahria Town petition concerning development carried out under revised layout plans that had never actually been approved by CDA. Citing this ruling alongside its own findings, CDA invoked Clause 5 of the ICT Zoning Regulations, under which approval of a housing scheme can be cancelled for violations of this kind.
The Wider Consequences CDA Has Now Imposed
Beyond cancelling this specific layout plan, CDA ordered suspension of processing and approval of all other cases submitted by Bahria Town, formally describing the company as a CDA defaulter. The authority directed its Enforcement and Building Control wings to initiate action against illegal buildings and structures within the scheme, and asked IESCO and SNGPL to restrict service connections strictly to those matching CDA-approved layout and building plans. CDA further directed relevant authorities to restrict advertisements for private housing schemes lacking the required approvals. The order was issued with the approval of the CDA Member for Planning and Design.
How This Fits Bahria Town's Broader, Documented Pattern With CDA This Year
This cancellation is the culmination of a genuinely extensive pattern of CDA enforcement activity against Bahria Town across multiple, separate schemes this year alone, not an isolated action against this one phase. In January, CDA issued a show cause notice over the Bahria Paradise Commercial Scheme-IV in Zone-5, alleging illegal conversion of public amenity plots and unauthorised construction more than two years after that scheme's 2023 layout plan approval, a notice that separately disclosed a federal audit para flagging Rs1.842 billion in outstanding fines, penalties, and land use conversion charges tied to that specific site. In February, a further notice targeted alleged encroachment on parks and open spaces within Bahria Enclave-I, a 12,543 kanal scheme. In December, a separate show cause notice addressed Bahria Town's failure to transfer public building sites, parks, graveyard, and roads to CDA in Phase-VII, despite notices on that specific issue stretching back to 2013. This September action against Phase III-E & IV therefore represents at minimum the fourth distinct CDA enforcement action against a separate Bahria Town scheme within the same year.
An Even Older Pattern of Non Compliance
This year's notices sit on top of a considerably longer running dispute. In a 2018 Islamabad High Court case concerning Bahria Town's Garden City golf course development, CDA's own legal adviser conceded before the court that the company had failed to comply with the terms and conditions of its layout plan and complete the prerequisites for obtaining an NOC despite a lapse of about seven years at that time, while continuing development, construction, and plot sales throughout that entire period regardless. The 15 year NOC delay CDA now cites for Phase III-E & IV specifically reflects the same underlying pattern that case exposed seven years ago, effectively doubling in duration since then without resolution.
What Remains Unresolved
No timeline has been given for how existing plot holders in Phase III-E & IV will be affected in practice, nor has Bahria Town issued a public response to this cancellation as of this report. Given the company's own documented history of continuing development and sales despite earlier notices and court findings, whether this cancellation results in an actual halt to activity within the scheme, or requires further enforcement to become effective, remains to be seen.
What This Means for Existing Plot Holders in Phase III-E & IV
Anyone holding a plot, file, or investment specifically in Bahria Town Phase III-E & IV should treat this cancellation as a serious, formal change in the scheme's legal status, not a procedural technicality. Given CDA's own record explicitly shows the scheme's NOC was never issued even while its layout plan stood approved since 2010, plot holders should understand that an approved layout plan and an issued NOC are two entirely separate things, and should confirm their own plot's specific status directly with CDA's Directorate of Housing Societies rather than relying on the scheme's 15 year operating history as any indication of legal soundness.
What This Means for Prospective Buyers
Prospective buyers should treat any offer to purchase a plot in Bahria Town Phase III-E & IV as carrying direct, elevated legal risk following this cancellation, and should independently verify current NOC and layout plan status with CDA before making any payment. Given that CDA has now formally suspended processing of all other Bahria Town submissions and labelled the company a defaulter, buyers should also factor this designation into their assessment of any other Bahria Town scheme in Islamabad, not only Phase III-E & IV specifically, until each individual scheme's own compliance status is separately confirmed.