KARACHI, Dec 17: Height curbs on buildings in the vicinity of the Quaid’s mausoleum took effect on April 4, 2002, and no violative structure raised after that date could be regularized, the Sindh High Court declared on Friday.
Disposing of a petition moved by the Quaid-i-Azam’s Mazar Management Board (QMMB), a division bench, comprising Justices Mushir Alam and Syed Zawwar Hussain Jaffery, directed the Karachi Building Control Authority to place on record ‘details of the building plans that have been approved regarding any construction within the radius of three-quarters of a mile of the mazar after April 4, 2002, within four weeks from with an advance copy to the petitioner’.
According to the petitioner board’s counsel, Naimur Rehman, there were about 109 buildings constructed in violation of the restrictions. He requested the court to order demolition of all unauthorized structures.
The bench heard extensive arguments advanced by Mr Rehman for the petitioner, Advocate Khalid Anwer for the respondent builders, Gharib Nawaz Company (Pvt) Limited and PPB Corporation, Additional Advocate-General Abbas Ali for the provincial government, Advocate Manzoor Ahmed for the city district government and Advocate Faisal Siddiqui and Afsar Ali Abidi for the KBCA.
The short disposal order said: ”Height restriction of a building above podium level of Quaid-i-Azam’s Mazar, ie, 91 feet (27.7 metres) above the mean sea level (MSL) within 3/4th mile (1.2 kilometres) became enforceable from the date of notification of the Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations (KBTPR 2002), that is, with effect from April 4, 2002.
“Approval of building plan, if any, after 4.4.2002 in violation of Regulation 25-1-10.2 of KBTPR 2002 is illegal and cannot be compounded or regularized under the amnesty scheme as in force.
“The KBCA is duty-bound and shall take appropriate action forthwith, in accordance with law, for demolition of any construction raised beyond the permissible limit after 4.4.2002.”
