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CDA Drafts New Regulations for Redevelopment and Relocation of Islamabad Katchi Abadis
By Mariam Khan
Real Estate Analyst
3 min read
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News
By Mariam Khan
Real Estate Analyst
3 min read
News
By Mariam Khan
Real Estate Analyst
3 min read
The Capital Development Authority has drafted the Islamabad Capital Territory Urban Regeneration or Renewal, Improvement, Upgradation and Relocation Regulations, creating a proposed legal framework for the documentation, redevelopment, improvement, and relocation of informal settlements, known locally as katchi abadis, across Islamabad. The regulations are currently under consideration for CDA board approval and have also been placed before the Federal Constitutional Court.
This is not a routine internal CDA policy exercise. The Federal Constitutional Court has been actively pressing CDA to finalise these regulations, with the court questioning why the rules had not been completed even after CDA reported earlier in the year that a draft was ready and awaiting board approval. The case originated from petitions challenging CDA's demolition drive targeting katchi abadis and historic villages, and the court has established a key requirement that affected residents cannot be evicted without being provided alternative accommodation, a condition that directly shapes what any final version of these regulations must include.
According to human rights groups citing CDA's own Master Plan, approximately 400,000 people currently reside in informal settlements across Islamabad, representing roughly half of the capital's population. A figure of this size means these regulations, once finalised, would not address a marginal or isolated issue but would establish the governing framework for how a substantial share of Islamabad's actual population lives, making this one of the more consequential pieces of urban policy CDA has worked on in recent years regardless of how it is ultimately implemented.
The proposed framework covers documentation of existing settlements, on site improvement and redevelopment, and relocation where necessary, including measures connected with low cost and social housing. CDA has been explicit, however, that its existing ordinance does not permit straightforward regularisation of unauthorised occupation of state land, meaning these regulations are being designed as a structured improvement and relocation mechanism rather than a pathway to simply legalising existing informal occupation of government land.
This regulatory effort sits alongside CDA's ongoing, and at times contested, enforcement actions in specific informal settlements, including the Bari Imam and Noorpur Shahan area we covered previously, where decades old compensation disputes have complicated CDA's operations. A finalised legal framework for documentation, improvement, and relocation could give CDA a more structured process to work through in cases like these going forward, rather than each settlement's compensation and relocation questions being negotiated on an ad hoc basis as disputes arise.
For anyone tracking Islamabad's property and urban development landscape, these regulations, once finalised, would represent a genuinely significant shift in how CDA is legally permitted to approach the roughly half of the city's population currently living in informal settlements, moving from largely enforcement driven demolition actions toward a documented process for improvement or relocation with court mandated protections for displaced residents. Given the court's continued pressure on CDA to complete this process, and the scale of population involved, this is a story worth tracking closely as it moves from draft regulation to board approval and eventual implementation.
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The Capital Development Authority has drafted the Islamabad Capital Territory Urban Regeneration or Renewal, Improvement, Upgradation and Relocation Regulations, creating a proposed legal framework for the documentation, redevelopment, improvement, and relocation of informal settlements, known locally as katchi abadis, across Islamabad. The regulations are currently under consideration for CDA board approval and have also been placed before the Federal Constitutional Court.
This is not a routine internal CDA policy exercise. The Federal Constitutional Court has been actively pressing CDA to finalise these regulations, with the court questioning why the rules had not been completed even after CDA reported earlier in the year that a draft was ready and awaiting board approval. The case originated from petitions challenging CDA's demolition drive targeting katchi abadis and historic villages, and the court has established a key requirement that affected residents cannot be evicted without being provided alternative accommodation, a condition that directly shapes what any final version of these regulations must include.
According to human rights groups citing CDA's own Master Plan, approximately 400,000 people currently reside in informal settlements across Islamabad, representing roughly half of the capital's population. A figure of this size means these regulations, once finalised, would not address a marginal or isolated issue but would establish the governing framework for how a substantial share of Islamabad's actual population lives, making this one of the more consequential pieces of urban policy CDA has worked on in recent years regardless of how it is ultimately implemented.
The proposed framework covers documentation of existing settlements, on site improvement and redevelopment, and relocation where necessary, including measures connected with low cost and social housing. CDA has been explicit, however, that its existing ordinance does not permit straightforward regularisation of unauthorised occupation of state land, meaning these regulations are being designed as a structured improvement and relocation mechanism rather than a pathway to simply legalising existing informal occupation of government land.
This regulatory effort sits alongside CDA's ongoing, and at times contested, enforcement actions in specific informal settlements, including the Bari Imam and Noorpur Shahan area we covered previously, where decades old compensation disputes have complicated CDA's operations. A finalised legal framework for documentation, improvement, and relocation could give CDA a more structured process to work through in cases like these going forward, rather than each settlement's compensation and relocation questions being negotiated on an ad hoc basis as disputes arise.
For anyone tracking Islamabad's property and urban development landscape, these regulations, once finalised, would represent a genuinely significant shift in how CDA is legally permitted to approach the roughly half of the city's population currently living in informal settlements, moving from largely enforcement driven demolition actions toward a documented process for improvement or relocation with court mandated protections for displaced residents. Given the court's continued pressure on CDA to complete this process, and the scale of population involved, this is a story worth tracking closely as it moves from draft regulation to board approval and eventual implementation.
CDA has ordered Islamabad Villas near Park Enclave and Bani Gala sealed over missing LOP and NOC approvals, while also restricting advertising and utility connections.
LDA has restarted improvement work on nine Canal Road underpasses from Thokar Niaz Baig to Mall Road, covering asphalt, repairs, signage and restoration.
ADB says Pakistan’s construction sector could benefit from lower property transaction taxes and higher housing subsidies, despite continued inflation and input-cost pressures.
Punjab will begin collecting Suthra Punjab cleaning fees from houses and commercial properties alongside property tax, with charges based on property size.