Syed Nasir Hussain Shah provincial minister for local government vowed to take action against "illegal constructions" to ensure safety of the masses. Addressing a meeting with members of Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan (ABAD) here on Tuesday, he assured the ABAD to promote legal construction and added that a vigilance committee was formed to oversee all types of construction activities across the Sindh, especially in Karachi.
He said the formation of oversee committee was in the final stages and quoted the DG SCBA as confirming the committee would be constituted by the first week of January, 2020.
He also highlighted that a mechanism for fast-track approval of small projects had already been launched; adding that the similar system for big projects would be introduced shortly. He also assured to resolve problems faced by the builders of Hyderabad and added that Sindh government was also forming a portal for ease of doing business. The minister said Master Plan 2047 of Karachi was also being prepared in light of contemporary requirements.
He said the provincial government was going to launch 171 infrastructure and development projects which would be completed by June 2020 and added that the World Bank was providing assistance for Rs 600 billion projects.
In his opening remarks, chairman ABAD Mohsin Sheikhani said it was welcoming that some pending issues of builders were now being addressed by the Sindh government and drew attention of the minister towards cumbersome process of approval of projects which took as long as 12 months.
He advised the minister to examine online system developed by the Board of Revenue for ease of doing business. "The system has the provision to ensure fast-track approvals of projects by taking K-Electric, KWSB, and SBCA in loop and process all NOCs of the projects."
The chairman underlined that Lahore Development Authority (LDA) had revamped its system and they were now granting approvals for each project within a 45 days and added that LDA system was formed on guidelines of the SBCA, but it has left the latter far behind in terms of ensuring facilitation to the builders and developers.
He also sought representation of a private sector in oversee committee of the provincial government to spearhead approval mechanism.
Sheikhani said that no new scheme was launched in Karachi in last 32 years. "Half of Karachi land is vacant, I believe. There are areas like Malir and Gadap where we can develop planned schemes," he added.
Secretary Local Government Roshan Ali Sheikh, Director General Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) Zafar Ahsan, Chief Engineer KWSB Ghulam Qadir, other government officials and ABAD members also attended the meeting.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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