Residents of sealed buildings allowed to take belongings

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has allowed residents of buildings sealed by the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) to remove their belongings, while directing that the structures be re-examined by an independent expert.

A two-member SHC bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro, gave the permission while hearing multiple petitions filed by affected residents challenging the SBCA's decision to seal buildings declared as dilapidated. The SBCA Technical Committee members appeared before the bench during the proceedings. Justice Kalhoro observed that residents often allege that the SBCA declares buildings dangerous merely to evict occupants. He questioned the Technical Committee's criteria for determining whether a building is dilapidated.

Engineer Arif Qasim, a member of the committee, said that if the committee's report is doubted, inspection could be carried out by a third-party expert. When the bench inquired about his remuneration as an independent expert, Qasim said he receives Rs5,000 as travel expenses.

Expressing surprise, Justice Kalhoro remarked: "You only get Rs5,000 for declaring a building dangerous? They must be taking Rs50,000 from the front."

The petitioners' counsel contended that the SBCA's reports were issued with mala fide intent and requested the appointment of a Nazir (court official) to inspect the buildings. The lawyer further argued that the photographs annexed with the SBCA report were not even of their clients' buildings.