— CJP comments withdrawal of order will benefit Bahria Town
KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan on Tuesday withdrew a ban on the construction of high rise buildings in Karachi.
The top court issued these orders at the Karachi registry and directed city authorities to construct new buildings in accordance with the law.
In April 2018, the court had explained that its earlier directives that allowed two-storey buildings were for specific areas, ruling that the ban on more than two-storey buildings is still in place in most parts of the city.
In March 2017, the Supreme Court had stopped the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) and cantonment boards from issuing building approval plans for high-rise and multi-storey residential and commercial structures without the availability of proper water supply and sewerage systems.
Following the order, the builders had filed review petitions in the court.
As the court picked up the case for hearing on Tuesday, Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) Chairman Hasan Bakhshi appeared in court.
The court retracted its orders as Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar remarked that the retraction will also benefit Bahria Town.
Outside the court, Bakhshi told reporters that the builders had borne many difficulties ever since the order was passed. He added that around 500 projects were paralysed and 500 awaited approval.
“About 500 billion worth of investment was stuck”, he added.
Bakhsi expressed his gratitude to the top court and hoped that the SBCA, water board and another department would cooperate with the builders.
Ensuring SBCA of their cooperation, he offered his organisation’s assistance to Prime Minister Imran Khan in his landmark project of constructing five million houses.
