January 24, 2008	Thursday	Muharram 14, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Jan 23: The Supreme Court was requested on Wednesday to set aside an earlier order calling for a commission on high-rise buildings, and, instead, vest similar powers to the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) to curb building irregularities.

The proposal was made when a three-member bench took up an application filed by Farooq Hameed against environmental hazards posed by high-rise buildings that had been constructed in violation of building bylaws.

The request was made by Abdullah Khan Dogar, who is representing the owner of a three-storey commercial building on the Beden Road in Lahore.

The case was originally initiated by a pre-PCO Supreme Court bench on a suo motu notice with Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday heading the bench. On May 11, 2007, the bench had halted construction of all multi-storeyed buildings (more than three storeys high) in Lahore after it learnt that none of them had been checked by any LDA engineer, creating doubts about the buildings’ structural stability.

The commission had been formed and it included Justice (retd) Riaz Kiyani, architect Kamal Khan Mumtaz and the nominee of the vice-chancellor of the University of Engineering and Technology, Tahir Ahmad. It had conducted a survey of all high-rise buildings in Lahore and compiled a report.

On the submission of the report, the apex court had imposed heavy fines on violators of the building code.

The bench had also suspended four LDA officials on charges of negligence of duty in the construction of the 10-storeyed Masood Hospital that had been built despite a stay order granted by the court.

On Wednesday, LDA’s legal adviser Mian Qamaruz Zaman contended that the authority welcomed advocate Dogar’s suggestion. After considering the proposal, the court ordered all parties to settle the issue and adjourned the matter till Feb 4.

It also observed to form a committee to supervise actions against building owners who had violated the building bylaws.