KARACHI, Oct 12: The Sindh government has directed the State Bank of Pakistan to stop the work being carried out in its old historical building (originally the State Bank of India building) which is protected under the Sindh Cultural Heritage Protection Act, it is learnt.

Sources said the directive had been issued by the Karachi Building Control Authority, a team of which visited the bank and saw the on-going work and later issued the directive.

The sources said as the SBP staff refused to receive the KBCA directive, it was sent to the central bank through courier.

They said the SBP intended to establish a monetary museum in the beautiful old colonial-style sandstone building, situated next to the SBP head office on I. I. Chundrigar Road.

They said nobody, including its owner, could carry out any repair, restoration or reconstruction work in a building protected under the act, which prescribes long prison terms and heavy fines for violators.

An NOC is required from the Advisory Committee on Cultural Affairs, headed by the provincial chief secretary, for carrying out any such work at the site protected under the act.

KBCA approval is also mandatory for carrying out any construction, demolition etc work in any building in the city. The SBP does not have any of the mandatory permissions, the sources added.

The KBCA’s Oct 11 directive to the SBP on the subject: “Addition/alteration work without mandatory approval required under relation No 15 – 3.1 KBCTPR – 2002 in notified heritage building” says:

“With reference to the above it is observed that addition & alteration civil work is found under progress without obtaining mandatory permission of Advisory Committee for Sindh Cultural Heritage and subsequent approval of this Authority which is in violation of Clause 15 – 3.1 of Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations – 2002.

“You are hereby advised to stop all sort of addition and alteration and construction work forthwith till grant of request permission by the concerned authorities.”

Answering questions asked by Dawn, senior KBCA official Agha Maqsood Abbas said since the SBP staff was not receiving the directive, so to avoid an ugly scene between the two government organisations, the KBCA team sent the advice to the bank through courier.

The SBP’s official concerned, Dr Asma Ibrahim, in the meantime, wrote a letter on Oct 6 to the advisory committee seeking permission – it was two days before the publication of a report on the subject in Dawn’s Oct 8 issue.

The SBP official’s letter says: “The State Bank of Pakistan plans to establish a Monetary Museum in the old State Bank Building, in this regard we want to carry out conservation measures to consolidate the original structures and undo additions made inside the building in the recent past. The said changes will not alter its look and Plan therefore the permission for adoptive reuse may kindly be accorded at the earliest.”

Responding to Dawn queries, Sindh Culture Secretary Shams Jafrani said the department had received the SBP request for permission to work in the protected old State Bank building a day or two back and well after the publication of the report on the issue in the media.

He said approval could not be granted on a five-line, 66-word letter. The department would ask the SBP to submit its detailed plans to find out what exactly it wanted to do at the protected site. After which the matter would be discussed by the advisory committee, and then probably by its technical sub-committee.