Centaurus Mall given seven notices under PTI govt

ISLAMABAD: Action by the Capital Development Authority against the Centaurus Mall, owned by Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, had begun in the government of his own Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party over non-conforming use of its basement, it has emerged.

The CDA building control section issued several notices to the mall for the use of the basement as offices of maintenance and other staff. Show-cause and sealing notices were also sent to it many times. However, no practical action was taken. The mall was also issued a notice for using the building without a completion certificate. An application by the mall for permission to change Bloc C was also approved in the PTI government.

According to the CDA, the mall sprawls over 2.7 acres. The plot was sold in the PMLQ government in 2005, through an open auction for Rs6.67 billion. There are offices of the maintenance staff on more than one floor in the basement, which are illegal. The CDA issued several notices to the mall and then sealed the part being used illegally. The mall administration also applied for changes in Bloc C and requested approval for a hotel and apartments and a mall and apartments in Bloc D. The application was approved in the PTI government in 2020. However, the map for Bloc D was approved in the PDM government in September 2022.

The mall was served a notice for illegal use of the basement in 2019. Another notice was issued in 2020 and yet another notice was sent to it in March, 2021. Another notice was released in October 2021. One more notice was issued in February 2022 and another was released in March 2022, while a sealing notice was sent to it in April, however, action could not be taken.

In its reply, the firm running the mall told the CDA that the project was incomplete and offices in the basement would be removed after its completion. However, the CDA rejected its stance and said there was no justification for the illegal steps. The CDA issued a notice to seal the mall on December 2, 2022, and the part of the basement which was being used illegally was sealed on December 5. The CDA said stalls in the corridor of the mall were also illegal.