The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the Sindh government to finalise and notify the Sindh Building Planning, Construction, Control, Demolition and Disposal Rules as contemplated under the Section 21 of Sindh Building Control Ordinance in the official gazette within three months.
The direction came on a petition against the non-framing of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) rules and conversion of residential land into commercial purposes.
In the meantime, the high court ordered that neither the SBCA nor any other authority shall exercise any powers in deviation of the Karachi Strategic Development Plan (KSDP) until the requisite rules were duly framed and notified in the conformity therewith and in accordance with the binding judgments of the apex court.
A high court division bench, headed by Justice Adnanul Karim Memon, ordered that the government shall ensure that the rules being framed were strictly in consonance with the present statute, binding judgments of the apex court including those relating to unlawful commercialisation and change of land use, and the objective and mandatory provisions of the Karachi Strategic Development Plan 2020.
The SHC also directed the SBCA and local government department to examine and address the issue of uniformity, harmonisation and consistency among the existing regulation by-laws, policies and notifications framed under the ordinance and regional building regulations so as to avoid arbitrariness and discriminatory applications of the law.
The bench observed that the KSDP 2020 had attained legal status under the Section 40 of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance having been duly approved and gazette-notified.
The SHC observed that the plan envisaged an integrated and coordinated planning regime for Karachi and was binding upon all federal, provincial and local authorities operating in the city.
The high court observed that non-implementation of an approved and notified development plan without lawful justification undermined statutory governance and resulted in arbitrariness.
The bench observed that it had come to the court’s notice that the government had initiated a process to frame the rules.
The SHC observed that statutory obligation to frame and notify the rules could not be deferred indefinitely and time-bound direction was warranted to ensure compliance with the mandate of the law and the binding judgments of the SC.
The high court directed the Sindh government to finalise and notify the Sindh Building Planning, Construction, Control, Demolition and Disposal Rules as contemplated under the Section 21 of Sindh Building Control Ordinance in the official gazette within three months.
A provincial law officer submitted that after the promulgation of the SBCA Amendment Act 2014, all matters related to master planning, site development and building regulation squarely fell within the exclusive statutory domain of the SBCA, and any action taken in pursuance was fully backed by the law and legislative intent. The law officer requested the high court to dismiss the petition as non-maintainable.
The petitioner, Advocate Tariq Mansoor, had submitted that rules with regard to building planning, construction, demolition and disposal had not been framed under the Sindh Building Control Ordinance despite a lapse of 42 years. He submitted that the Karachi Buildings and Town Planning Regulations 2002 had also unlawfully incorporated the change of land use and commercialisation mechanism, allowing the conversion and commercialisation of land without proper town planning and upgradation of civic amenities and infrastructure, which was2 severally affecting public amenities and residential neighbourhoods.
The petitioner had said the Sindh Building Control Ordinance did not intend or authorise the change of land use and conversion of residential land as per the original master plan of the Karachi Development Authority, but contrary to it, the framers of the Karachi Building Town Planning Regulations had prima facie acted in excess of their jurisdiction and themselves included the change of land use and commercialisation chapter, which was inconsistent with the ordinance.
He had said the Supreme Court had also imposed a ban on unlawful commercialisation and change of land use.
The high court had been requested to direct the government to frame the building, planning, construction, control, demolition and disposal rules and declare the town planning regulations with regard to the change of land use for commercialisation to be unlawful and in contravention of the parent law. The petitioner had also requested the SHC to direct the civic bodies to enforce the Supreme Court’s directives against unlawful constructions and change of land use for commercial purposes in all the residential neighbourhoods of the city.
