Daily Times

KARACHI: In defiance of the Supreme Court (SC) orders, the Sindh Building Control Authority (SCBA) has awarded 20 no objection certificates (NOC) for construction of high-rise buildings in different parts of the port city.

The authority has also accepted another 123 such applications, SBCA officials told Daily Times.

Earlier on March 16, the apex court had put a ban on construction of multistoried and high-rise buildings beyond ground plus two floors.

Subsequently, the SBCA, through a notification on May 26, had also informed the general public and people concerned that a ban had been imposed on construction high-rise buildings in the city.

However, the authority kept on granting NOCs to builders for construction of commercial buildings beyond ground plus two floors, the officials said. Those who have been awarded NOCs from March 16 to May 25 include Aqeel Karim Dedhi to construct a 17-storey project under name of Court Regency in Callachi Cooperative Housing Society, Muhammad Hussain of the Empire Boulevard Defense, Talha Sikandar and Muhammad Haris of G-4 Square in Maulana Muhammad Ali Jouhar Cooperative Housing Society, Muhammad Nawab and others of Crown Comforts in Jamshed Quarters, Farooq Parekh and Shamim Ahmed of Al-Reef Tower in Bahadur Yar Jang Cooperative Housing Society, Muhammad Jamal of Al-Madni Tower in Block-6, PECHS, Jamshed Town, Muhammad Farhan of Smart Arcade, Sector-Y-1, Gulshan-e-Maymar, Gadap Town, Asghar Ali Bhindarawala of Crown Homes, Waqas Khannai of Down Town Tower, Railway Quarters, Umair Farooq of Adhia Maple Homes, Chandni Chowk, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Muhammad Arif of I0-Con Trade Centre in Bihar Muslim Cooperative Housing Society, Shaista Masood Khan of Makkah Residency in Jamshed Town, M Karim of Karimi Arcade-1 in Sector-2, Surjani Town, Zahida Ghulam and Fazila Ghulam of Kulsoom Residency in Jamshed Quarters, Zahiad Ghulam and Fazila Ghulam of Zahra Residency in Jamshed Town, Abdul Rehman of Chayell Bridge View in Shah Faisal Colony, Ahsanuddin Siddiqui and Pervaiz Khan of Premier Residency in Jamshed Town, project owners of I-Con Residency in Jamshed Town, project owners of Elegant Tower in Jamshed Town and project owners of Court Regency in Gulshan Town.

They said that the authority had raked in billions of rupees in shape of scrutiny fee and other charges. Sensing gravity of the issue, SBCA Agha Maqsood, through an office order issued on September 21, directed the department’s officials not to entertain such cases. However, he later went on medical leaves. It may be mentioned that the official obligation of SBCA is to ensure stability of structures, keep quality control in construction activities, regulate building and town planning regulations and safeguard interest of the general public.

Published in Daily Times, September 30^th 2017.