Residents complain some buildings wrongly declared dangerous: Ghani

Minister wants fresh survey of 'dilapidated buildings'


Our Correspondent July 16, 2025 1 min read
A derelict building has been sealed by SBCA, while a resident said he has challenged the decision in the court of law. Photo: Jalal Qureshi/express

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KARACHI:

Sindh Minister for Local Government, Saeed Ghani said on Tuesday that a survey of all dilapidated and dangerous buildings should be conducted afresh.

He mentioned that complaints have been received about buildings being wrongly declared dangerous. Committees led by the relevant deputy commissioners are already in place across the province, including Karachi, to conduct the survey all precarious structures. The committees will include one member each from the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD), Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC), and Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners.

He expressed these views on Tuesday while chairing the first meeting of the committee formed to address the issue of dangerous buildings across the province.

During the meeting, a detailed discussion took place on 588 dilapidated buildings across Sindh, including 59 classified as extremely dangerous. Commissioner Karachi presented a report saying that out of the 59 extremely dangerous buildings, 29 have already been evacuated and data of the residents has been compiled, while efforts are underway to evacuate the remaining ones to prevent any major tragedy.

Ghani said that a fresh survey must be carried out on all dangerous buildings, as complaints are being received about misclassification. He said that the survey should be completed as soon as possible, and its findings must be presented in the committee's next meeting.

He said that in the first phase, Sindh government will pay three months' rent to the displaced residents of the affected building in Baghdadi, Lyari, as well as those evacuated from the 29 buildings. Later, the committee will give its recommendations for tenants with pagri or ownership rights, proposing compensation or other benefits accordingly.

Ghani stressed that the Sindh government is taking this longstanding issue seriously and is aiming for a transparent resolution.

Based on recommendations from all technical experts and stakeholders in both sectors, the government will formulate short- and long-term policies for the affected residents.

Furthermore, the committee will recommend whether buildings that are salvageable through minimal or moderate maintenance can be made habitable again.

The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary Local Government Sindh, Waseem Shamshad, Mayor Murtaza Wahab, Commissioner Syed Hasan Naqvi, SBCA DG Shahmir Bhutto, Director Admin Mushtaq Soomro, ABAD Chairman Hasan Bakhshi, Vice Chairman Tariq Azeer, Pakistan Engineering Council's Lt. (R) Muhammad Iqbal, Pakistan Council of Architects member Suhail Bashir, Engineer Arif Bilgrami, Deputy Commissioner south, Javed Latif Khoso, MC Lyari Hammad ND Khan, and others.

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