Cantt board: DHA bypassing us on building plans

KARACHI: The two governing authorities, Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and Clifton Board Cantonment (CBC), are reportedly involved in an unpleasant tug-of-war.

A battle of egos is likely to take place as the CBC levels accusations at DHA, saying that the housing authority, which is primarily a developing authority, is going ahead with projects without obtaining the cantonment board’s approval first.

The area that falls under the CBC includes blocks 8 and 9 of Clifton and phases I to VIII of DHA. DHA is the chief developing authority and in charge of infrastructure projects such as drainage and roads, while the CBC is the municipal authority and in charge of other responsibilities, such as tax collection.

In 1983, the Karachi Cantonment Board was bifurcated, bringing about the Clifton board. All decisions pertaining to the area under the CBC and DHA have to be approved by the Clifton board, which comprises four members.

“According to section 178-A of the Cantonment Act, 1924 (II), it is mandatory to run construction plans of any building, whether it is erecting or re-erecting a building, by the board,” said a CBC official. “However, DHA abuses its purported authority and ignores its obligation to send its plans of constructing buildings on amenity plots.”

There are countless examples in which DHA bypassed the board’s approval. “They have only obtained the board’s permission in two cases,” the official claimed.

The plans put into effect include major projects such as Creek Marina and Crescent Bay. Several others, some of them developed in collaboration with private firms, such as schools, clubs, hotels, petrol pumps and CNG stations, have been completed without the mandatory approval of the board.

Another accusation thrown DHA’s way by CBC is that the former is using amenity properties, meant for social welfare projects, for other purposes.

“The Creek Vista project was carried out on area marked for a graveyard. DHA promised that it would find an alternative area but that has yet to happen,” the CBC official said.

According to him, all maps have been changed but if the original map can be found, DHA could be taken to court and challenged.

Already a case in this regard is pending in the Sindh High Court in the form of a civil suit against the illegal construction of a school on area that had been reserved for a garden.

An earlier SHC judgment had declared that the sale or purchase of an amenity plot is illegal if there is no lawful authority. “These plots are reserved for the welfare of general masses and they cannot be deprived of the facility extended to them under law,” the order had read.

The Secretary Ministry of Defence was directed to hold an inquiry into the matter. “In some cases DHA obtained approval from the CBC before executing a project but in most cases they didn’t,” said the chief operating officer of the CBC, Muhammad Hayat Mahr. “All these issues will soon be resovled in our meeting next week.”

Granting or cancelling a building plan is at the discretion of the CBC. Construction that is started without the board’s sanction is a breach of section 184 of Cantonment Act, 1924. According to the act’s section 184, the board has the right to stop or demolish the construction raised under these circumstances.

Published in The Express Tribune July 5^th, 2010.