KARACHI: Unauthorised construction in Hindu Gymkhana
By Bhagwandas
KARACHI, April 16: Illegal construction activities in the Hindu Gymkhana — a site protected under the Sindh Cultural Heritage Preservation Act — are being carried out without necessary permissions, it is learnt.
According to the sources, the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA), the current occupier of the Seth Ramgopal Goverthandas Mohatta Hindu Gymkhana situated on M. R. Kiyani Road opposite the Arts Council, plans to construct an auditorium / theatre on the site.
Sources said that huge quantity of construction materials – iron bars, sand, gravel, cement, etc – had been brought to and being kept in the spacious grounds of the gymkhana, while ground had been dug up for the foundations of the proposed building also.
They said that nobody including the owner could carryout any kind of construction activity, repairs, restoration work, etc in a building protected under the SCHPA, which prescribes long prison terms and heavy fines for the violators.
They said that permission / NOC from the Advisory Committee on Cultural Affairs being headed by the Sindh chief secretary was required before carrying out any such activity in a protected building.
The sources said that if the construction was to be carried out in any building in the city permission from the KBCA was to be obtained, while for the building protected under the Act, an additional NOC was needed from the advisory committee that was issued through the Sindh Culture Department. The NAPA neither has the KBCA’s permission nor the SCD’s NOC, they informed.
According to sources, since some members of the NAPA give an impression that they have connections with Islamabad based high-ups, including those in the uniform, the Sindh Culture Department as well as the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) are looking the other way while the illegal act is carried out by the influential violators.
The KBCA’s Controller, Zahid Naeem, responding to Dawn queries said that he did not know about the construction activities, however, he would send his officials to check. He however, said that no plans have been submitted for the construction in the Hindu Gymkhana.
Responding to Dawn queries, the SCD officials also said that they were not aware of any construction in the protected building. They also agreed to send some officials to the protected site to check if some construction was being carried out. No application to get NOC for any construction in the Hindu Gymkhana, which was mandatory, has been submitted with the department, they added.
