The Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) has launched a drive to demolish dilapidated and unsafe buildings in Karachi, according to a press release issued on Thursday.
Earlier this month, the SBCA launched a province-wide survey on dangerous buildings and ordered the immediate demolition of all illegal structures across Sindh. The operation aims to ensure public safety and hold urban Sindh accountable, something that has been needed for a long time.
According to the press release, Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah ordered the demolition campaign, which is being carried out by SBCA director general Muzamil Hussain Halepoto.
“The demolition operation has begun in Lyari’s Noabad and Agra Taj, where SBCA demolition teams are safely dismantling highly dangerous buildings,” the press release read, quoting a spokesperson for the authority.
“According to the latest report of the SBCA, a total of 540 buildings in Karachi have been declared dangerous, of which 59 are classified as extremely dangerous.”
The press release notes that the buildings whose demolition have already been vacated and the process itself is being carried out in phases with the support of the district administration.
“Our top priority is to ensure that no citizen loses their life under a building collapse. This campaign is a crucial step towards a safer Karachi,” Halepoto said.
He added that, in addition to the demolition campaign, a zero tolerance policy is applied against illegal and unauthorized construction.
In July, a committee formed to tackle unsafe buildings and illegal constructions across the province was informed that around 300 families had been evicted from 56 “extremely dangerous” buildings in the metropolis and were receiving monthly rental assistance of 30,000 rupees for three months.
The then local government minister, Saeed Ghani, said a comprehensive study of the 740 buildings declared “hazardous” across Sindh, including 588 in Karachi, was again being carried out in collaboration between the government and private institutions.
He revealed that of the 61 “extremely dangerous” buildings in Karachi, 56 had already been reassessed and vacated, while the remaining five (four in Garden and one in Saddar) are under judicial scrutiny and will soon be vacated as well.
