KARACHI, Oct 9: The Sindh High Court ordered on Thursday eviction of illegal occupants of unauthorized constructions on two residential plots in Lyari before their demolition and asked the city and provincial governments to assist the Karachi Building Control Authority in the operation.
A builder and developer has raised a ground-plus-six-floor building on plot number 954, ‘G’ Road, Lyari. He had KBCA approval for constructing only a ground-plus-one floor residential structure.
Not only was the site unlawfully converted into a commercial complex but the number of floors was also increased six times without any sanction from the KBCA in gross violation of the rules and in disregard of the authority’s warnings.
An SHC bench comprising Justices Sabihuddin Ahmed and S. Ali Aslam Jafri ordered the KBCA to demolish the unauthorized structures in accordance with the law and rules but the authority expressed its inability to comply with the direction in the absence of police assistance despite its repeated requests to the city government, the town police officers and the DIG (operations), Karachi. On Thursday, the bench asked the KBCA and the provincial government to report compliance with its order by November 11, when the matter would again come up for hearing.
Two other residential plots involved in gross violation of the Sindh Building Control Ordinance, 1979, are numbered 33 and 33/1, Ly-7, Moosa Lane, Lyari, and together measure about 1189.36 square yards. They have been merged into one and converted into commercial premises. Against the sanctioned ground-plus-three-floor structure, five floors have been raised.
Open and car parking areas have been covered and shops and workshops built in gross violation of the law. The KBCA expressed its inability to comply with the court order for want of police assistance in this case also.
The bench extended the demolition deadline to November 4, observing that the city and provincial governments were expected to assist the KBCA in seeking enforcement of law by way of demolition of unauthorized buildings and ejectment of their illegal occupants.
Besides demolition, the court had asked the KBCA for action against its officials responsible for allowing illegal constructions. The officials include one assistant controller and three deputy controllers of buildings. At the request of the KBCA counsel, Shahid Jamiluddin Ahmed Khan, the court gave the authority until November 4 to comply with the order relating to action against the delinquent officials. It warned that delay in disciplinary action only promoted corruption and inefficiency within the KBCA. Further proceedings were adjourned till Nov 4.
In its orders in the two cases, the bench brought on record city government counsel Manzoor Ahmed’s submission that ‘no coercive apparatus is available with the city district government for enforcement of orders passed for eviction and demolition of unauthorized structures’.
It also recorded Additional Advocate-General Qazi Khalid Ali’s undertaking that a directive would be issued to all police officers concerned, particularly the DIG (operations), Karachi, to provide the necessary assistance on a priority basis for the enforcement of court orders and for meeting the requirements of law.
The bench also noted the AAG’s statement that the question of placing police personnel at the disposal of the KBCA for enforcement of law and court orders would be duly considered.
PETITION REMITTED: The Sindh High Court on Thursday remitted a writ petition moved by an entertainment company against the assessment of duty payable by it to the provincial excise and taxation secretary for an appropriate order in the light of averments made by the petitioner.
The petitioner, Sindbad’s Wonderland, submitted that it had opened three indoor amusement centres at Clifton, Tariq Road and Gulshan-i-Iqbal and installed coin and ticket-operated machines there. Sealing and desealing of machines was done regularly to determine the entertainment duty liability. The excise and taxation officer, however, continued to raise the demand without sealing until in case of one of the centres, the duty was enhanced from Rs18,000 per month in 1994 to Rs60,000 per month in 2001.
In April 2002, the petitioner company alleged, it received a demand notice for Rs940,000 for the years 1999-2002 together with a penalty of Rs235,000. The amount, the petitioner contended, had been enhanced without any notification and without sealing and desealing of the slot machines.
The respondent department submitted through Additional Advocate-General M. Ahmed Pirzada that the petitioner company was being assessed provisionally subject to a final determination of its liability. The director-general, excise and taxation, sympathetically considered its revision petition in 2001 and fixed the duty at Rs50,00 per month. The additional demand of Rs940,000 consisted of the unpaid balance which accumulated over the years, the AAG stated.
AAG Pirzada, however, agreed that he would have no objection if the petition was remitted to the excise and taxation secretary for a fresh decision. The petition was accordingly disposed of by a division bench comprising Justices Wahid Bux Brohi and Rehmat Hussain Jaferi by the consent of the parties.