KARACHI, March 26: A single organization should ensure the enforcement of building rules and regulations in all areas of Karachi, including those falling within the purview of cantonments, the Karachi Port Trust , the Pakistan Railways, the Civil Aviation Authority and the Defence Housing Authority, a high-level meeting agreed in principle on March 19.

The meeting was convened to resolve the controversy between the city district government and the Karachi Building Control Authority in compliance with an order of the Sindh High Court.

The minutes of the meeting, chaired by the provincial chief secretary and also attended by the city nazim and the KBCA chief, were produced by Additional Advocate-General Qazi Khalid Ali as directed by an SHC division bench, comprising Justices Sabihuddin Ahmed and Mohammad Afzal Soomro.

KBCA counsel Shahid Jamil Khan submitted that the minutes did not amount to a notification. Only a notification issued under Section 4 of the SBCO 1979, could be legally binding on the authority.

He requested the court to allow the application moved by the authority against undue interference in its affairs by the city government and other agencies. He brought on record a letter addressed by the executive district officer (finance) telling the KBCA that it stood merged into the CDGK and should submit its budget for the city council's approval.

CDGK counsel Manzoor Ahmad submitted that the issue had finally been resolved by the March 19 meeting on the basis of consensus and should not be allowed to be reopened. He called for the dismissal of the KBCA application.

Disposing of the application, the bench observed that the legal dispute would ultimately require amendments to the SBCO or the Sindh Local Government Ordinance (SLGO), 2001, for an enduring settlement.

Notifications were unlikely to yield the desired results. It said ad hoc solutions would only postpone the final outcome and building regulation would suffer in the meanwhile. It described as irresponsible the EDO's claim that the KBCA stood merged into the CDGK like the defunct Karachi Development Authority.

Dealing with the KBCA complaint that it received no cooperation from the city district government, police and other agencies in the demolition operations, even when undertaken in compliance with court orders, the bench directed the applicant and the respondents to act strictly in accordance with the law and help one another in carrying out their legal obligations without meddling in their affairs.

According to the minutes of the March 19 meeting, the city nazim and the district coordination officer called for the enforcement of the devolution notification issued by the local government department in October 2002. The KBCA chief suggested that the authority should be allowed to continue to work "as at present".

The meeting decided that the city nazim should be designated as "the authority" under Section 4 of the SBCO. The notification issued on Oct 9, 2002, about the KBCA should be withdrawn/ superseded.

A 16th group of offices be set up in the CDGK with the name and title of "Building Control Group of Offices" under Section 14 of the SLGO read with its Section 35. The KBCA chief controller of buildings be designated as EDO, Building Control, 16th group of offices.

By way of a permanent solution, the meeting decided that proposals should be taken up with the appropriate authority to extend the jurisdiction of the building control authority/group of offices to the entire city, including areas administered by other land owning agencies.