KARACHI, Oct 17: The Sindh High Court directed the Karachi Building Control Authority on Tuesday to demolish three bungalows built on a plot reserved for a public park in KDA Scheme 5, Clifton.
The order was issued by a division bench, comprising Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Sajjad Ali Shah, on a petition moved by the residents association of Block 2, Scheme 5, Clifton.
They complained that a public park has been encroached upon by builders and developers.
They have raised a boundary wall and constructed three residential bungalows on plots D-16, D-18 and D-19 carved out of part of the area reserved for use as public park.
The court appointed its nazir to inspect the site. The nazir carried out an inspection and confirmed that three bungalows and ‘a power generation facility’ has been built on the site.
The KBCA said in its comments that the petitioners had not approached the court with clean hands and that they had also occupied land not belonging to them.
The authority’s counsel, Shahid Jamil Khan, requested the bench to order the Saddar Town municipal administration to demarcate the area reserved for the public park and authorize the KBCA to demolish any construction raised on encroached land.
Allowing the request, the bench asked the municipal authorities to demarcate the area and the KBCA to demolish the unlawfully-built bungalows and report compliance on Nov 2.
SC NOTICE: The KBCA, meanwhile, received a notice from the Supreme Court in respect of 17 bungalows alleged to have been constructed illegally in Blocks 2 and 3 of the Pakistan Employees Co-operative Housing Society.
The notices were issued on a complaint addressed by Mian Tariq Manzoor Pagganwala to Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. The complainant alleged that 17 or 18 bungalows had been built in the two blocks illegally and that the KBCA was doing nothing to curb violations.
The CJ converted the complaint into a human rights case in the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction and issued notices to the advocate-general, the KBCA and the builders for Oct 17. The notices to builders were served through the authority.
COMPLIANCE: The KBCA has initiated legal formalities for demolition of 13 illegally constructed buildings in Jamshed Town and one structure in Saddar Town in compliance of an SHC order.
The buildings facing demolition action in Jamshed Town are Al-Rahim Apartments, J J Luxury Apartments, Khizr Arcade, Zeenat Avenue, Kiran Apartments, Pak Nighat, Al-Azar Apartments, GRE 511/24 Fatima Bai Hospital, Garden East, GRE 511/22 Shahzad Plaza, GRE 511/23 Shahzad Plaza, GRE 343 Hussain Heights and GRE 352 Adam Heights.
These buildings were declared illegal and the KBCA in compliance of an SHC order had rejected their cases for regularization.
According to another SHC order, Rehman Heights in Preedy Quarters Plot No 22/4, PR-1, Saddar Town, is also to be demolished for violating the building and town planning regulations.
The authority has issued letters to all utility organizations for disconnecting gas, electricity and water connections.
The town nazims have been requested to get the premises vacated by illegal occupants through the police force so that the apartment complexes could be demolished without creating a law and order situation.
