RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) will outsource building survey to identify legal and illegal structures from next year to increase its building plan and commercialisation fees.

RDA Director General Saif Anwar Jappa told Dawn that the civic body would hire a firm to identify legal and illegal structures in housing schemes in its limits to stop the trend of constructing commercial or residential buildings without approval form the civic body.

He said by hiring the firm, the RDA would increase its revenue and keep checks on its building branch to ascertain if of ficials concerned ignored illegal construction in their areas for their `interests`. He said there were reports about illegal constructions in the city and mostly the structures were constructed without approval of the building plans and paying commercialisation fees. He said building inspectors will be accountable af ter the new system and the civic body would take action against of ficials found helping the construction of illegal structures.

The process to hire the private firm would be started by the end of this month. Mr Jappa said, adding applications would be sought from firms soon. He said the RDA will pay nominal charges to the firm for providing details about construction of domestic and commercial buildings.

The RDA chief said they would also develop a webpage and after the survey the private firm would upload pictures and details of the buildings which were being constructed. He said the details of the structures will remain on the website till the owner applied for approval of the building plan or commercialisation of the property.

He said that there were many structures in the garrison city which had been constructed without the approval of the civic body. The civic body was not only f acing financial losses but also f ailed to implement its building regulations in the commercial as well as residential areas. He said if the private firm failed to provide information about underconstruction buildings and the civic body knew it from other sources the firm will have to pay a plenty to the RDA.

He said the basic aim of the new system was to stop the mushroom growth of illegal structures in the district and implement the building regulations. He said the civic body had made building regulations for the safety of the residents and in this regard it would ensure the developers followed the building bylaws. Aamir Yasin