Around 700 dangerous and hundreds of thousands of illegally and poorly constructed buildings in Karachi continue to pose a constant threat to the lives and properties of residents of the metropolitan city, Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) chairman Muhammad Hassan Bakshi said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference at ABAD House, Bakshi rejected a government-formed committee investigating the recent building collapse in Lyari, demanding that representatives from the private sector be included in the inquiry.
A five-story residential building collapsed in Karachi’s Lyari last week, killing 27 people. After the building incident, Sindh government removed Ishaq Khowro from his position as Director General of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA). Shahmir Khan Bhutto has been appointed as his replacement.
“In the past five years, collapses of illegally constructed buildings have claimed 150 lives,” Bakshi said, attributing to “corruption, greed, and government negligence”.
“Sindh government is showing no interest in developing a master plan for Karachi,” he said.
“Around 700 dangerous and hundreds of thousands of illegally and poorly constructed buildings in Karachi continue to pose a constant threat to the lives and properties of residents,” Bakshi warned.
ABAD is willing to reconstruct all 700 dangerous buildings, according to its chairman, who demanded that families of those who died in the Lyari tragedy be compensated with Rs2.5 million each. Those rendered homeless should receive Rs1 million in aid, Bakshi added.
He claimed that additional floors were being constructed illegally without approval, and the foundations and roofs of such buildings were only suitable for 15 to 20 years.
“Local authorities, police, and relevant officials are complicit in these illegal constructions, while residents, out of necessity, are forced to live in hazardous conditions,” ABAD chairman claimed.
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Bakshi warned that in the event of an earthquake, thousands of these structures could collapse, leading to large-scale loss of life. He called for anti-terrorism charges to be filed against the builders responsible for illegal constructions and the government officials who enable them.
Bakshi further criticised Sindh government for “failing to enact effective legislation on the issue of dangerous buildings” and urged authorities to conduct a structural survey with the help of credible institutions such as NESPAK or NDMA.
Bakshi identified the areas where dangerous buildings were located. The areas he claimed about including Delhi Colony, Liaquatabad, Lyari, and others.
He further claimed that authorities like Malir Development Authority (MDA) and Lyari Development Authority (LDA) had collected over Rs25 billion under the guise of residential schemes but had failed to deliver even a single completed project.
Meanwhile, ABAD chairman appealed to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to launch housing schemes in Sindh similar to those introduced by Maryam Nawaz in Punjab, noting that there is “a severe housing shortage in Sindh, which is being exploited by the mafia”.
“If Sindh government assigns ABAD the task of building 100,000 houses, the association is ready,” Bakshi said.