The Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) has launched a large-scale campaign to demolish unsafe and dilapidated structures in Karachi, following a directive from the provincial government aimed at improving public safety.
According to a statement released on Thursday, the operation is being carried out under the supervision of SBCA Director General Muzamil Hussain Halepoto on the orders of Sindh Minister for Local Government Nasir Hussain Shah.
The SBCA stated that demolition work has already begun in Lyari’s Noabad and Agra Taj areas, where highly dangerous buildings are being carefully dismantled by the authority’s demolition teams to prevent potential accidents.
The latest SBCA survey identified 540 buildings in Karachi as structurally unsafe, with 59 of them categorised as “extremely hazardous.” Officials said that all such buildings have been vacated before demolition, which is being conducted in phases with assistance from the district administration.
“Our foremost goal is to ensure that no citizen loses their life due to a collapsing building,” DG Halepoto said, stressing that the ongoing operation is part of a wider effort to make Karachi’s urban landscape safer and more regulated.
He added that the authority is enforcing a zero-tolerance policy against illegal and unauthorised constructions in addition to targeting unsafe structures.
Earlier this month, the SBCA initiated a province-wide survey to identify dangerous and illegally constructed buildings across Sindh, with orders for their immediate demolition.
In July, a committee established to oversee the issue was informed that 300 families had been evacuated from 56 extremely dangerous buildings in Karachi. The affected families were provided Rs30,000 per month in rental support for three months to help them relocate.
Former local government minister Saeed Ghani had revealed that a fresh survey of all 740 buildings declared dangerous in Sindh — including 588 in Karachi — was underway through collaboration between the government and private institutions.
He added that of the 61 buildings marked “extremely dangerous” in Karachi, 56 had already been vacated, while the remaining five — four located in Garden and one in Saddar — were still under judicial review and would be cleared soon.