The Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) has submitted its report to the Supreme Court, making shocking revelations about Bahria Town Karachi and the level of corruption it indulged in to get access to land for real estate purposes.
The report says that Bahria is carrying out construction in several sectors without getting a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Authority. The SBCA states that it previously issued a conditional NOC to Bahria in 2014 for advertisement of residential and commercial plots. Following this, Bahria Town submitted plans for 4,696 acres of land for construction.
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However, this time the authority didn’t issue the NOC as Bahria Town failed to comply with building rules and regulations.
SBCA’s Report
As per the report, Bahria is allegedly carrying out construction work for 9,319 villas, 51 flat sites, four office buildings and 10 public buildings without any NOC.
The report adds:
The latest site inspection reveals that construction activities without approval of SBCA are being carried out.
As per SBCA’s rules, following guidelines must be met by the landowner to get the NOC.
- The owner must mortgage 15% of plots as security to SCBA.
- All relevant documents proving title to the land along with the building plan must be submitted.
Bahria Town failed to meet both rules of the Authority, the report adds. Section 19 of the Sindh Building Control Ordinance outlines the penalties that the violator will have to face.
Whoever contravenes any provision of this ordinance, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or with fine not less than Rs 20,000 or with both and if the offence is a continuing one, further fine not exceeding Rs 500 for each day after the date of the first commission of the offence.
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Supreme Court Takes SBCA and Malir Development Authority to Task
The SBCA and Malir Development Authority (MDA) were also under fire from the Supreme Court for not acting against the violators. The Court told:
At times the MDA appears to have acted as a property dealer and even as a go-between in the deal. Likewise, the government of Sindh which … acted as a collaborator than a protector of the government land…it is thus a brazen betrayal of the trust of the state and the people and a blatant fraud on the statute.
No Action
Despite the report submitted by the SBCA itself, the authority has failed to take any action against Bahria Town. The SBCA even listed the illegal housing projects in the newspapers recently, omitting any mention of Bahria Town Karachi in their ad.
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Take a look at the public notice by SBCA that names Karachi’s land mafia:
On the other hand, reports say that MDA is bearing all costs of roads leading to Bahria Town instead of the builder.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan, about a month ago, banned Bahria Town from selling any plots in the city. The decision came in after the court took up the case regarding the illegal allotment of MDA’s land to Bahria Town.
Via Dawn
