High-rise construction: SHC wants to see layout of green belt being ‘encroached’ in North Karachi

Builder seeks court permission to build high-rise as residents object.

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered the local administration on Friday to produce the layout plan of a green belt, which has allegedly been encroached upon in North Karachi.

A division bench, headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, directed the officials to produce the map in the court by September 17.

The question of encroachment over a piece of the green belt arose during the hearing of a petition seeking permission to construct a high-rise building over a plot auctioned by the local authorities to a private company.

The petitioner, Sikandar and Company, had submitted that it had purchased a plot located in Sector 5/E of North Karachi, where it had started constructing a high-rise building. But the residents raised objections to the construction, which allegedly covered a portion of the green belt.

On the last date of hearing, the SHC bench had ordered the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) to seal the building in question due to the violations of building laws.

The judges had also summoned the KMC administrator and SBCA director-general to explain why they had failed to stop the violations.

On Friday, both the chiefs of the KMC and SBCA failed to show up which irked the judges.

The law officers representing the corporation and the civic body submitted, however, that their respective departments were ready to give alternate land to the petitioner.

The bench observed that some corrupt officials were not hesitating from illegally selling out the amenity plots, and even green belts.

Taking strong exception to the state of affairs, the judges ordered the law officers of the KMC and SBCA to produce the map of the green belt in question by the next date of hearing, which was fixed on September 17.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 31^st, 2014.