ISLAMABAD: People visiting one of the city\u2019s most popular indoor shopping areas got a rude surprise on Saturday as they found the doors to SAFA Gold Mall were closed.
\nThe Capital Development Authority (CDA) Building Control Section (BCS) has sealed the multi-storey shopping centre in Jinnah Super Market over building code violations.
\nThe operation was carried out in presence of the CDA magistrate and BCS staff.
\n\u201cThe CDA kept the operation secret. BCS enforcement staffers were called at 6 am and the operation was carried out at 7 am,\u201d a CDA official told The Express Tribune. He added that the CDA staff did not face any resistance from the owners of the mall \u2014 Al-Safa Golden Company.
\nThe primary charges against the mall\u2019s owners are building plan violations \u2014 specifically the construction of the eighth floor \u2014 and failure to pay Rs70 million owed to the CDA.
\n\u201cThe CDA had previously objected to the construction of the eighth floor, terming it a violation of the rules. Construction of the eighth floor had to be suspended, but the owner continued building with the intent of setting up a cinema on that level,\u201d said CDA Public Relations Deputy Director Malik Saleem Akhter. He said that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had also asked the management of a shopping mall to vacate CDA\u2019s land at the earliest.
\nThe letter states that the \u201cBuilding plans for the eighth floor were approved\u2026on the basis of readjustment of circulation area\u201d.
\nThe letter continues to identify modifications to the approved building plan which have reduced the size of corridors, which in turn actually increased the floor area ratio (FAR) beyond what was approved. The letter further said that it had been decided to suspend the aforementioned approval till appropriate adjustments of FAR were made and that no work could be carried out at the site till then.
\nIn addition, in May 2015, the CDA had sent notices to the owners of the mall directing them to vacating public land on which it had installed machinery including generators and cooling towers. The management of the mall had covered a minor stream adjacent to the premises and placed generators and cooling systems there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD: People visiting one of the city\u2019s most popular indoor shopping areas got a rude surprise on Saturday as they found the doors to SAFA Gold Mall were closed. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) Building Control Section (BCS) has sealed the multi-storey shopping centre in Jinnah Super Market over building code violations. The operation was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\n