Sindh govt opposes mayor’s move to hand over Frere Hall

As per MoU, 19-member board of private citizens will oversee maintenance, refurbishment of 19th century building

KARACHI: A bid to manage and maintain one of the city’s most iconic colonial era structures has gone awry, pitting the mayor of Karachi against the provincial government.

The city’s mayor, Wasim Akhtar, signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a guardian board to take care and oversee the maintenance of Frere Hall. The signing took place on Friday and the 19-member board, which includes prominent businessmen and philanthropists such as Shahid Feroz, Jameel Yousuf, Amin Hashwani, Arshad Taib Ali and Muhammad Saleem Khan, was also present.

Under the MoU, the heritage building of Frere Hall, its adjacent park and garden will be taken care of by the board instead of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC). Speaking to The Express Tribune, Akhtar claimed that all the Sindh government and KMC laws regarding heritage were reviewed before the decision to hand over maintenance of Frere Hall to the board. According to him, they will restore the lost glory of Frere Hall as the board members have agreed to pool in monetary resources for its refurbishment and maintenance.

Replying to criticism that the move was ‘illegal’, the mayor said that he, as head of the KMC, will get the decision approved by the City Council before forwarding it to the Sindh government.



However, in a press release issued on Friday, Antiquities and Archaeology Director-General Manzoor Ahmed Kanasro said that the signing of the MoU for the conservation, preservation and development of Frere Hall by the mayor was illegal. “The MoU will have no legal value if it’s not approved by the advisory committee on heritage, whose chairperson is the provincial chief secretary,” reads the press statement.

Frere Hall a heritage building that dates back to the early British Colonial era in Sindh. It was completed in 1865 and is a protected monument under the Sindh Cultural Heritage (Preservation) Act, 1994 and Antiquities Act, 1975.

Kanasro said that under Section 20 of the Antiquities Act, 1975, it is illegal to conduct any work such as the repair, conservation or renovation of immovable antiquities on declared heritage sites or buildings without prior approval of the advisory committee constituted for the purpose.

According to the statement, whoever contravenes the provisions of the Act shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with a fine or both.

Former provincial antiquities secretary and one of the members of advisory committee on heritage Dr Kaleemullah Lashari said, “The change of use of heritage property is not acceptable under the law without the approval of the committee on heritage.”



According to him, the KMC, being the caretaker of maintaining the park, has no authority to decide the fate of the heritage building of Frere Hall.

Dr Lashari said there was already work going on at Frere Hall and that work would continue. An ongoing scheme to maintain the library, Sadequain Art Gallery and museum of epigraphy is already in progress, he said, adding that the scheme has been sent for revision to include replacing the rooftop with a copper one as part of its renovation programme.

The move to hand over maintenance of the park to private persons also drew criticism from Culture, Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sardar Ali Shah. He warned that the Sindh government would challenge the MoU in court.

But this is not the first time the Sindh government and the KMC have clashed over this issue. The ownership rights of the Frere Hall still reside with the KMC but the issue is contentious. Official sources told The Express Tribune that some time ago a summary was moved to the chief minister by the culture and heritage department seeking ownership of the building. The chief minister, instead of using his executive powers or making a decision, sought the opinion of the local government department and mayor on the issue.

“The LG department supported the handing over of the building to the culture department, but the mayor opposed it,” sources said, adding that the chief minister delayed a final decision on the matter due to the mayor’s objections.



Kanasro said that the building was in a dilapidated condition and the culture department, with the help of the advisory committee on heritage, has preserved it. “In its library rare books are available, but unfortunately the books are diminishing with each passing day. We are also working on the conservation of the library scheme,” he said.

Another stir was caused in January, 2017 when the KMC rented out the hall’s gardens for the Karachi Food Festival. The Sindh government made it a point to point out the illegality of the matter, something the mayor later admitted was the result of negligence on the KMC’s part.