Daily Times

KARACHI: Defying Sindh high Court’s order, the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) has announced a fresh policy to regularize illegally built wedding and banquet halls, and marriage lawns in the city.

In this context, Authority has invited applications from fresh owners of halls including owners who had submitted their cases under amnesty scheme announced in 2002-2003-2004 for regularisation. Earlier, following much criticism from public quarters, human rights and non-governmental organisations on illegal construction of commercial, industrial and residential buildings including wedding sites, the authority had stopped the process.

The Authority in another attempt to relive its scheme had tried the regularization process in 2016, but Sindh High Court on petitions filed by public quarters and civil society praying that such scheme was tantamount to violation of by-laws of construction and would encourage illegal construction, had declared this act of authority ‘against the rule of law’.

The Court had also ordered the authority to refund scrutiny fee and other charges to applicants in question. Court had also directed authority for taking action against its officials, town planners, architects, professional engineers and involved persons.

Furthermore, Court had also declared more than 800 such pending cases illegal on the ground that those were not built in accordance with the prescribed rules and procedures.

On contrary, authority had taken no action under the directives of Court and now Authority in its fresh move has brought out a fresh framework for owners of wedding lawns, halls and gardens to enjoy regularisation rights.

Under the new procedure, vide letter SBCA/PS-CE/2017/16, in pursuance of the recommendation of marriage lawns, halls, garden and banquet halls shall not be considered under provisions No:18-4 to 18-5.8 on the plots falling on less than 150 feet wide road and having minimum area of 2,000 square yards.

According to fresh rules, marriage lawns, halls, garden and banquet halls, shall be allowed to establish on the plots situated on roads open for change of land use after payment of prescribed fee. Conversion of residential plot situated on roads declared open for change of land use for the purpose, such construction shall be allowed after 50 percent of prescribed fee with allowable Floor Area Ratio 1:1.

According to fresh policy, KBCA has asked owners to enforce the use of valet parking and use of nearby open space for parking.

Besides control late night commercial activity through time management and restraint late night function. Complete ban on road side cooking and barbecue.

Certain slabs of fee structure have been made for conversion of wedding sites on status of areas and such applicants would have to pay 50 percent of the total fee to authority in advance. The owners of wedding sites on the plots situated on non-declared roads have also been given 6-month period to regularise their respective sites.

In addition, allottees of amenity plots, president and general secretary of associations and trusts running such businesses by themselves or through some operation on their amenity plots in violation of lease condition has been provided this opportunity.

It is also framed that all those residential plots that were regularised as marriage halls either by KDA or KMC and process of regularisation was completed shall be treated only as ‘regularized marriage halls’ subject to availability of all original relevant documents to be verified and authenticated by all concerned departments.

Vide letter SBCa/PS-CE/2017/15 in pursuance of SBCA amendment Act 2014, March 20, 2014, the provisions of Bombay Act-1915, relating to master plan and existing resolution, standing operative procedures, rule and town planning stands repealed, and as per notification vide letter SO (G)/HTP/SBCA/4-59/2017, July 12, 2017, approvals pertaining to town planning schemes shall be invalid unless approved by SBCA.

In exercise of power vested under section 21-A (1) and (2) (kkj) of SBCA control ordinance 1979, it is notified that Town Planning regulations as provided under Karachi Building and town planning regulation-2002 shall be deemed to be the regulation for purpose of sub-division, amalgamation, layout plan, change of land use, however for jurisdiction except Hyderabad Municipal Limits (excluding old area), cases shall be decided on the merit of cases till the separate town planning regulations are notified.

Published in Daily Times, September 15^th 2017.