Sindh drafts ordinance to regularise residential buildings

KARACHI: The Sindh government has drafted an ordinance aimed at providing relief to the people of the province by regularizing illegal constructions and housing units, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

The draft of the legislation has been forwarded to Governor Imran Ismail for approval.

The move to relgularise residential buildings comes after much hue and cry following the Supreme Court’s order to demolish Karachi’s Nasla Tower.

Under the ordinance, a commission headed by a retired Sindh High Court (SHC) judge would be formed that will identify illegal structures.

The secretary of Local Government and Housing Town Planning, Government of Sindh, will be its secretary.

The demolition works on illegal settlements will be stopped for a period of 90 days, according to the ordinance’s draft.

The ordinance will also recommend punishment for violation in the construction of building structures.

Speaking to the media today, Karachi Administrator Barrister Murtaza Wahab said that the legislation is the same as the one introduced in Punjab earlier to regularise illegal buildings.

Earlier, Sindh minister Saeed Ghani announced to appoint a retired judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to lead a commission against illegal constructions in the province.

He had said that irregularities in the housing sector are not only confined to Nasla Tower, rather, the violations in building construction could be witnessed across the country.