Sindh may regularise illegal buildings

Information minister says similar step taken in Islamabad, Punjab

KARACHI:

The Sindh government has decided to bring an ordinance to regularise illegal housing units across the province.

According to Sindh government sources, the ordinance will formulate a commission which will consider cases of illegal construction for regularisation.

The panel headed by a retired Supreme Court judge will decide on conditions and penalties to regularise unauthorized buildings where demolition is likely to cause human tragedy.

The commission will aslo act against officers who did not act against illegal occupation of land and unauthorized construction.

Meanwhile, addressing a press conference in Peshawar, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani announced to appoint a retired judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to lead a commission against illegal constructions in the province.

Irregularities in the housing sector are not only confined to Nasla Tower, rather, the violations in building construction could be witnessed across the country.

He highlighted the two such cases and said that the Constitution Avenue and Bani Gala in Islamabad were regularised while the Punjab government has also passed an ordinance aimed at regularising illegal housing societies in the province.

Read More: Owners of illegal buildings fined Rs260m

"Decisions to strike down such housing structures could render thousands of people homeless," Saeed Ghani said and added that the province is working on it and will establish a commission headed by a retired Supreme Court of Pakistan judge to compile a report on illegal housing structures in the province.

ABAD postpones protest

The representative body of the construction sector, Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan (ABAD) has postponed its protest rally from ABAD House to Chief Minister House after assurance from the Sindh government of accepting Charter of Demand including Regularization of buildings.

Addressing media at ABAD House, Chairman ABAD Mohsin Sheikhani said that ABAD has postponed its protest rally for two days on the assurance of Sindh government for accepting ABAD's Charter of demand including regularisation of buildings on the pattern of Punjab.

He said that they could not meet the Chief Minister Sindh as he was out of city; however a meeting with the Chief Minister is arranged for December 1, in which other demands will be discussed. He said that Administrator Karachi Murtaza Wahab has conveyed that Sindh government has sent Ordinance for Regularisation of Buildings to the Governor Imran Ismail for approval.

ABAD chairman said that they are getting approvals from almost one and a half dozen of department legally before embarking on construction of buildings or development of land and paying millions of rupees as tax to the national exchequer.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2021.