KARACHI, Jan 4: An ordinance, whereby citizens were required to get their existing unauthorized buildings regularized within a stipulated period , is likely to be enforced again with certain amendments to enable those, who could not earlier benefit from it owing to high rates of regularization and penalties.

The amendments to the "Amnesty Ordinance" are likely to be introduced within a week by the governor to provide another opportunity to those aspiring to get their buildings regularized.

The proposed amendments are aimed at curtailing rates and penalties for regularization of illegal buildings by about 45 per cent, especially for those belonging to the low-income groups.

Such amendments have been necessitated, as the two ordinances namely "Sindh Building Control (Amendment) Ordinance 2001 and "Sindh Regulations and Control (Use of Plots and Construction of Buildings) Ordinance-2002 have failed to achieve the desired results because of high rates/penalties. The Sindh government had enforced these penalties on the recommendations of defunct KDA as a deterrent for future violations.

The ordinances were promulgated in 2001 and 2002 and the cut- off date for submitting applications to get the unauthorized buildings regularized was March 18, 2003. However, the Karachi Building Control Authority, during this period, received only 4,379 applications mainly owing to irrational and high rates.

The officials concerned, while fixing the exorbitant rates for regularization of existing illegal buildings, had estimated that there were between 20,000 and 30,000 such buildings in the city and by regularizing them, the government would earn around Rs20 billion to Rs30 billion.

However, the KBCA's exercise to regularize the illegal buildings proved futile merely because of the high rates. Describing the rates and penalties fixed for getting the unauthorized buildings as "unrealistic", particularly for the small houses built on 80 to 240 square yards, the KBCA chief, Brig (Retd) A.S. Nasir, remarked that "the deterrent rates are now firing back on our present regularization exercise."

Giving details of such cases, Brig Nasir told Dawn that out of 4,379 applications pertaining to regularization of unauthorized buildings, which the KBCA received till March 18, a total of 925 cases had already been cleared while 1,050 cases, where change of land-use was involved, were referred to the CDGK's Master Plan Group of Offices for clearance.

He said that half of the remaining cases had entirely illegal#status and thus each case was being examined in detail and yet the possibility of their clearance appeared remote due to their dismal violation. The builders/owners were reluctant to come forward owing to "ridiculously" high rates of regularization on account of penalties in remaining 50 per cent cases, he said, and added that these rates did not attract the builders to get their unauthorized buildings regularized.

In a summary moved to the chief minister, the adviser to chief minister on local government and additional chief secretary (local government), the KBCA chief proposed that a six-month extension be allowed for getting the unauthorized buildings regularized, besides rationalized schedule of rates be approved from the date of issuance of such a notification.

"In fact, the KBCA through its reorganization has generated Rs500 million so far under the head of regularization of unauthorized buildings. Out of this Amnesty for illegal buildings amount, Rs480 million was given to the city government and the remaining amount was spent on clearing the KBCA dues pertaining to utility charges, releasing employees' provident fund and renovating the KBCA building," Brig Nasir added.

Asked why the building control officers, despite their posting in the city's 18 town municipal administrations, were reluctant to sit in their offices, he said that as a matter of fact it was impracticable and irrational. He said that in such a case there would be no accountability, besides such a situation would create chaos and confusion adding to the sufferings of the citizens.

Moreover, he said the devolution of proposed nature was in violation of Sindh Building Control Ordinance, 1979. Terming the KBCA's devolution into the city government 'indivisible', the KBCA chief said that there were hardly 25 officials and if 18 of them start functioning at TMAs level, only six or seven officials would remain at the KBCA office for checking and monitoring the construction activities. This would not only be unrealistic, but detrimental to a large segment of the city's population, he added.