KARACHI, Jan 31: The Karachi Building Control Authority has sought clarification from the City District Government regarding the ongoing repair/renovation work in the formerly KMC building protected under the Sindh Cultural Heritage Protection Act.

With his letter to the Officer Incharge (renovation) of KMC Cafeteria, the Deputy Controller of Buildings, Saddar Town, has attached a clipping of the report, appearing in Dawn recently, which suggested that no permission from the relevant authority, the Advisory Committee on Cultural Heritage, had been obtained before carrying out the work and that the relevant rules and regulations were flouted.

The District Coordination Officer, Shafiqur Rehman Paracha, had earlier told this scribe that in his view, such a permission was not required for ‘work of minor nature’ at protected buildings.

The work at KMC building, however, has been stopped on the directives of the provincial government which has also asked the city government and the DCO to submit the building’s architectural design and details of the amendments, intended to be made to it, with the Culture Department for the purpose of obtaining a permission.