Hyd’s concrete jungle sparks the court’s ire

SHC directs NAB to probe revenue generation, expenditures of SBCA, HMC

HYDERABAD:

Holding the Sindh Building Control Authority and the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation responsible for the haphazard and unauthorised expansion of Hyderabad's concrete jungle, the Sindh High Court has signalled the national anti-graft watchdog to conduct an inquiry against these two departments.

A Hyderabad circuit bench, comprising Justice Nadeem Akhtar and Justice Arshad Hussain Khan, heard a case pertaining to encroachments in Hyderabad on Thursday and issued stringent directives to clear roads and footpaths from these hindrances.

The bench gave time till March 17 to the HMC for the removal of power generators, which have been placed on footpaths and roads and against which the HMC reportedly collected around Rs15 million in revenues this year. "The case of HMC and SBCA will be referred to the National Accountability Bureau," the bench remarked, adding that the bureau will probe funds' generation, expenditures and approvals given by the two departments. "From the municipal commissioner to the peon, all accounts and audits of HMC will be brought under the inquiry."

The court was informed that the HMC was collecting fees against the placement of power generators on public property under a notification issued by the Sindh local government secretary.

Read: SHC extends deadline for demolition drive in Hyd

"I don't think so," replied Sindh Additional Advocate-General Bachaya Soomro, when the bench inquired if the notification could be treated as a legal document.

Following this, Justice Akhtar asked HMC Municipal Commissioner Muhammad Ali Shaikh to tell how many generators in Hyderabad are still placed on the roads and footpaths and gave him five days to remove all the generators.

Unauthorised constructions

During the hearing, Hyderabad Deputy Commissioner Fuad Ghaffar Soomro apprised the court that until 2018 the SBCA was following the bylaws of the Karachi Building Control Authority (KB0CA). However, he added, the provincial government had issued separate bylaws for Hyderabad and Sukkur, with the chief minister directing the authority to not allow multistorey buildings in areas lacking infrastructure. He told the court that the housing schemes were approved by the SBCA and HDA are using residential plots on the main roads for commercial purposes.

The bench asked the SBCA regional director Navid Asim to explain why the SHC's December 24, 2019, order, which gave 15 days to the authority to decide all pending cases of unauthorised constructions has not been implemented.

Some 1,577 such cases were pending before the SBCA one year and three months ago. The court was told that the status of less than one third - 490, of those cases, has been determined so far. "Where is the report of action taken against the rest of the structures? All those cases pending till today are illegal?" asked Justice Akhtar.

Funds for roads

Meanwhile, the Hyderabad district administration sought Rs1.77 billion for the expansion of roads in the area recovered during anti-encroachment operations. The DC had pointed out that their efforts often go in vain because of recurrence of encroachments once the sporadic exercises ground to a halt.

The provincial finance secretary, Syed Hassan Naqvi, stated that his department will be unable to make an immediate release of funds. He suggested that the district administration should write to the works and services department to submit a proposal to the Sindh Planning and Development Department for approval after which the finance department would allocate and release the funds.

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"You [Naqvi] are telling a complicated procedure. The court only wants to expedite the release of funds as per the law," remarked Justice Akhtar. "Consider that a road development emergency has been declared [in Hyderabad]."

He pointed out that Hyderabad was given only Rs584 million in development funds last year despite being the second largest city of the province. Whereas, he added, the smaller districts like Badin, Dadu, Ghotki, Khairpur, Shikarpur and others received much higher funds.

Realigning electricity poles

Moreover, the court directed the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO), which has been tasked with realigning electricity poles located in the middle of roads, to submit a list of the company's properties at the next hearing. "You may have to sell some of them to invest in the city," the bench remarked.

During the hearing, HESCO CEO Muhammad Yaqoob maintained that the company was running in financial loss and that they could not foot the bill for the realignment of the poles. He said the Sindh government should pay the cost. However, the secretary finance said the realignment of the electricity poles is not the responsibility of the provincial government and that the company should pay for it.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2021.