No new utility connections without building approvals

Court stops municipal agencies from granting connections to illegal projects.


Ppi October 11, 2012

KARACHI: Bad news for builders: the Sindh High Court has said that no new civic connections can be provided to any building if it does not have an approved plan.

The order was passed on Tuesday on a petition filed by a non-governmental organisation against the illegal construction of a multi-storey building in Bihar Muslim Cooperative Housing Society.

The division bench, headed by Justice Maqbool Baqir, also restrained the court registrar from registering leases or sub-leases of any building constructed in violation of the buildings laws.

All buildings constructed in the metropolis must have a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) issued by the Sindh Building Control Authority.

A developer has constructed a 12-storey building with ground plus three parking and eight residential floors on plot No. 124 of the society in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, the petitioner submitted.

Among the many other construction irregularities, the mandatory open spaces were covered and the number of residential units were increased against the approved building plan, the plaintiff’s lawyer alleged.

He appealed to the court to order the authorities to demolish the illegal structure and disconnect the civic amenities at the project.

Khursheed Javed, the lawyer on behalf of Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), also filed his report pointing out various irregularities in the construction of the high-rise building. He told the court that its regularisation plan under the amnesty scheme was pending with the building authority for approval.

SBCA’ Law Officer Shahid Jamiluddin argued that the court has repeatedly issued orders to stop giving municipal agencies to such buildings but its directions are never followed.

After hearing the arguments, the judges “categorically” ordered all civic agencies not to provide further connections to any building without approval from the SBCA.

After the court directed the SBCA law officer to obtain a copy of this order and send it to all the agencies for compliance, the hearing was adjourned.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11th, 2012.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ