LG Minister Saeed Ghani asked SBCA to take stern action against illegal constructions in Karachi

Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani has asked the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) to show no compromise on the issue of illegal constructions in Karachi.

He stated that illegal buildings cause unmatched chaos in cities. On Thursday, after becoming the local government minister, he visited the SBCA and Karachi Development Authority offices for the first time, meeting with officials from both agencies.

He ordered SBCA officials to take equal action against anyone participating in illegal building activities in the city. He warned that the SBCA would be accountable for any unauthorized construction in Karachi’s neighborhoods.
Ghani decreed that building inspectors, senior building inspectors, and additional building inspectors must certify monthly that no illegal construction is happening in their areas. He insisted that the SBCA’s operational rules must explicitly outline procedures for assigning blame for illegal constructions.

The minister urged SBCA officials to be timely, diligent, honest, and courteous in their work to improve the agency’s public perception. He commanded the officials to start an informative campaign to alert the public about illegal constructions to deter people from buying such properties.

He noted that laws and rules need amendments where required to allow strict legal action against any builder engaging in unauthorized construction. The SBCA Director General Abdul Rasheed Solangi informed him that the agency processes construction-related applications, including building plan approvals, with an 88 percent acceptance rate.

He said the SBCA had launched a one-window operation for approving building plans for residential buildings on 60- and 400-square-yard plots in Karachi within 15 days. He briefed the provincial minister that the complaint cell of the SBCA had been fully functional to help out the people having construction-related issues.