KARACHI, Dec 11: The NED University, having the firm backing of its chancellor, Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad, for its illegal construction activities, has started to throw its weight around and has snubbed the Karachi Building Control Authority for trying to stop the work, Dawn has learnt.
Sources said that, in a harshly worded letter to the KBCA, the NED told the city’s building regulatory authority that the university did not need anyone’s approval for any construction and that its (KBCA’s) various “illegal” construction notices issued to the university were being treated as “null and void”.
Sources informed Dawn that the NED was carrying out the restoration/construction work at its city campus, which is protected under the Sindh Cultural Heritage Protection Act. Nobody, including the owner, could carry out any construction/restoration work in a building protected under this act, which prescribes heavy fines and long prison terms for violators. An NOC/permission is to be obtained from the advisory committee on cultural heritage, which is headed by the chief secretary, before carrying out any construction activities in a protected site.
The sources said that NED registrar Javed Aziz Khan’s letter to KBCA chief Rauf Akhtar Farooqui on the subject “NED city campus restoration project” referred to the letter from the Governor’s House that says that the culture secretary had been directed to order the KBCA not to interfere with the NED.
Mr Khan, in his letter to the KBCA, further said that the “NED does not require any approval/NOC from the KBCA for starting/carrying out restoration work at its city campus on Maulana Din Mohammad Wafai Road near Pakistan Chowk.
“Being an autonomous body, i.e. a public sector university, NED does not require permission from any other body, other than its own statutory bodies for all alterations and development work within its respective campuses.
“So, the notices issued by the KBCA deputy controller of buildings, Saddar, are being treated as null and void”.
In the absence of the mandatory NOC, permissions and approvals, the construction activities being carried out by the university’s architecture department chief Dr Noman Ahmad and his deputy Anila Naeem under the overall supervision of Vice-Chancellor Abul Kalam, are illegal.
The sources said that as the NED’s Ms Naeem is associated with the Sindh culture department’s technical committee and another NED adjunct faculty member is associated with the advisory committee, the culture department was not taking any action against the NED for its illegal construction.
The sources said that the KBCA officials concerned – chief controller Rauf Farooqui, controller Agha Maqsood Abbas and deputy controller Abdul Rehman Ansari – are former students of the NED and on their part, initially did not believe that their alma mater could be carrying out the illegal construction. But when the picture became clear to them, the KBCA started to take the issue seriously and sent notices, one after the other, to the NED asking it to stop the illegal construction and present the mandatory approvals.
Dawn’s attempts to get the NED version on the issue also could not succeed as the university officials concerned refused to give their side of the story and said that they “Might talk to Dawn after a couple of months”.
Going slow
The sources said that though the NED administration kept mum officially, they had been trying to manipulate the happenings behind the scenes. A few weeks ago an NED delegation met the KBCA officials – chief controller Rauf Farooqui and controllers Mohammad Shafique and Atique Baig, the latter also former students of the NED – and requested them to look the other way while they (NED) carried out the illegal construction. The officials made it clear that since the matter was being reported in the media, they could not ignore the issue; however, they could help their alma mater by “going slow” – which they did.
In the meantime, the university’s vice-chancellor succeeded in getting a letter sent to the chief secretary directing him to order his subordinates – the KBCA etc – not to interfere in the NED issue.
The sources said that now, with the letter from the Governor’s House in their pockets, the NED administration had been emboldened and had written the strongly-worded letter – which looks unusual keeping in mind that it is coming from a house of higher learning – to the KBCA on the issue.
The sources said that just by reading the letter, one can see what the educational institution, which claims to be a premier and prestigious one, is probably teaching its students (engineers, architects, etc).
“It is teaching them that if you are influential or have the backing of influential people, you can violate any law of the land. It is no wonder that more and more buildings, which are constructed in violation of relevant laws, are coming up in the city”, said an observer.
Governor’s House
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Sindh Governor’s House, responding to the NED University’s city campus restoration work issue on Tuesday, said that “Work is being done by one of the premier institutes of engineering education in Pakistan, in accordance with heritage regulations. The university has also acquired the necessary NOC from the department concerned”, the spokesman added.
This is interesting as the university’s registrar in his letter to the KBCA has stressed that the university does not require permission from any other body, other than its own statutory bodies, to carry out work on its campuses.
The contradiction between the statement issued from the Governor’s House and the NED registrar’s claim is quite obvious.
