KARACHI, Jan 10: Sindh government has directed the city district government Karachi to immediately stop construction activities at the old KMC building on M.A. Jinnah Road.
In a letter to DCO Shafiqur Rehman Paracha, Culture Secretary Abdul Hameed Akhund has said that the building was protected under the Sindh Cultural Heritage Protection Act.
According to the Act, “nobody, even the owner, can carry out any construction, repair, restoration, alteration activities, etc., at any site protected under the Act without obtaining permission or NOC from the advisory committee headed by the Sindh chief secretary.” The Act prescribes long prison terms and heavy fines for the violators.
At present, work is being carried out at the building without permission from the advisory committee. The city government plans to set up a cafeteria and canteen in a part of the building and many solid wooden doors have been taken out and the openings are being closed down with cement blocks.
Responding to a query whether permission from the advisory committee and the culture department had been obtained for the purpose, the DCO had earlier maintained that “it is a minor work and no permission or NOC is required.”
Permission from the Karachi Building Control Authority, which monitors such construction/repair activities, is also mandatory before carrying out any activity in a protected structure. But even this procedure has not been followed.
Mr Akhund, in his letter to the DCO, said that record available at the Sindh Culture Department showed that neither any permission had been sought for carrying out work at the building, nor any permission had been granted, so the work should be stopped immediately and an application along with the designs, drawings, maps, etc., for permission/NOC be submitted to the department.
In reply to a question, Mr Akhund told Dawn that a meeting of the advisory committee — which had not met for the last many months — would be held shortly to discuss the KMC building issue and other matters relating to other heritage sites.
He said that neither the defunct KMC had sought any permission/NOC for carrying out work in the building nor the advisory committee had granted any such permission.
The Sindh Cultural Heritage Preservation Act’s section 18 (penalty) says: “Whereas any person, including the owner, destroys, removes, damages, alters or defaces a protected heritage,... he shall be punished with a fine which may extend to Rs100,000, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with both.”
Sources maintained that earlier whenever private people (individual owners) tampered with heritage buildings, the Culture Department used to register cases against them, but now when a government agency has tampered with a protected building, only a letter is being issued. Similarly, when a law-enforcement agency razed a protected building at Lucky Star in Saddar, no action was taken against it, they added.
One of the most impressive Anglo-Mughal piece of architecture, the KMC building was designed by James S.C. Wynnes of Edinburgh. The foundation stone of the building was laid in 1895 by Bombay Governor Lord Sandhurst at another site — Currency Office — but later the present site was selected. The building was completed at a cost of over Rs1.75 million in 1931 and the opening ceremony was held on Jan 7, 1932.
Its facade and decorative mouldings, etc., were constructed with “Chhatar” — a pink sandstone from Jodhpur — and locally available yellow Gizri sandstone was used internally and in the rear to cut down expenses.
