CAA issues notice to DCO for building house near Chitral airport

PESHAWAR, June 16: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has served a legal notice on the district coordination officer (DCO) of  Chitral for constructing his  private house within the limits of the Chitral airport. Sources within the CAA said a notice was issued on Rehmatullah Wazir on June 11 and that CAA’s high-ranking officials had also been informed about the alleged encroachment. The construction is reported to be hardly 200 feet away from the centerline of the runway, although law states that around 750 feet on either sides of the runway should always remain clear. CAA’s Public Relations Officer Pervez George confirmed the reports and said the DCO Chitral was constructing his private house within the 750 feet area limit. He added that a pilot had filed a complaint against the construction and threatened that he will not land at the Chitral airport if the construction was not stopped. “We have brought it to the notice of CAA’s high ranking officials and have served the DCO a legal notice,” George said, adding that the rules were made in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Notices have been issue under National Airfield Clearance Police and Federal Land Building Possession Act LIV 1965. CAA’s Legal Adviser Obaidur Rehman Abbasi said he will be leaving for Chitral on Monday to see the problem. DCO Wazir, however, appeared defiant and said it was not only him, but “hundreds of others” who reside in the area. “This is a private matter. You can come and see my house in Peshawar and you will see that the boundary walls of my house touch the CAA’s barbed wires. I am not the only one who has been issued a notice for illegal construction,” he said, adding, “In fact, the CAA has been doing this for a long time and thousands of people are issued such notices on a daily basis throughout the country. If the CAA needs land, they should acquire it like other people,” he said.–Express Tribune]]>