An Environmental Tribunal of the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has taken action against a private company, issuing a notice to the CEO in response to a complaint against the illegal construction of multi-story residential and commercial towers along the seafront in Karachi.
Led by Justice (r) Nisar Mohammad Shaikh, the forum has directed the CEO of M/s HMR Waterfront Private Limited, Mohammad Hasnain, to submit a response to the complaint by January 17.
A resident of Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Phase-VI, Mohammad Iqbal Brohi, had complained against M/s HMR Waterfront Private Limited, contending that the company carried out construction on the project without fulfilling the legal requirements as per Section 26(2)(b) of the Sindh Environmental Protection Act, 2014.
He argued that the company started construction on the project without obtaining any approval from SEPA as per Section 17 of the Sindh Environmental Protection Act, 2014.
Section 17 of SEPA states that any party proposing a project must submit an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) of the project to the SEPA and obtain approval from it before starting any construction work on the project.
Brohi had also sent a letter to the SEPA under Section 26(3)(b) of its Act to draw attention to the illegal activity and requested action to be taken, but the agency did not take taken any action.
In August 2021, Brohi had revealed the initial/partial construction in question is a temporary site/sales office which started before the EIA process was initiated. As soon as the company became aware of the legal requirements and regulations, it stopped construction on the project.
In May 2021, Brohi along with Noor Ul Amin, and Mohammad Bux passed by the construction site and observed that the construction was ongoing without any approval from the SEPA, which is a violation of the law. The complainant took photographs of the construction work in the presence of his witnesses.
While presenting the case, Brohi’s lawyer stated that the company’s failure to comply with the rules established in Section 17 of the Act constitutes a violation of the law and renders them subject to punishment.
Based on this, the lawyer requested the tribunal to take notice of the situation and issue a warrant for the arrest of the company’s owner.
