HYDERABAD: Hyderabad Deputy Commissioner Fuad Ghaffar Soomro has urged Sindh chief minister, chief secretary, secretary of local government, Hyderabad commissioner and director general Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) not to allow construction of high-rises in the city until proper civic infrastructure has been laid.

The DC in a letter, a copy of which was obtained by Dawn, said to all functionaries a few days back to devise a mechanism to get formal input from the DC’s office before according approval to any high-rise project.

He drew chief secretary’s attention towards illegal and unauthorised construction of buildings in the towns and cities of the province and discussed what he believed were “pressing issues of Hyderabad” like fast urban sprawl without planning.

The DC observed in the letter that while the district administration was held answerable at all forums for infrastructural development of the city that included planning, sewerage, mushroom growth of high-rise buildings and parking issues, no input was formally sought from it when construction projects were at the stage of approval.

He believed that Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA) and SBCA approved layout plans of housing schemes and high-rise buildings without taking the DC’s office into confidence and without getting the office’s input.

He opposed approval of any plan of high-rise building which lacked sufficient parking space and proposed that no high-rise should be approved without laying proper civic infrastructure like sewerage and water supply lines.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2021