Staff Reporter
‘Illegal’ plots and buildings worth Rs1 billion have been demolished in anti-encroachments drives in Karachi over the span of one month.
The sources have revealed that 131 operations have been conducted in Karachi from February 6 to March 6. During these drives, 25 wedding halls and 31 portions and penthouses were demolished. The operations were conducted by the Sindh Building Control Authority, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and Karachi Development Authority in different areas including Gulberg Town, Liaquatabad, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Saddar, Malir and Korangi.
In Surjani Town, three plots spreading over 600 yards were cleared of all encroachments. The SBCA demolished illegal buildings worth Rs800 million, while the KMC and KDA each cleared encroachments worth Rs70 million.
The details of the demolition drives will be presented in the Supreme Court on the next hearing of the encroachment case.
The SBCA started this week an operation against illegal buildings following the order of the Supreme Court.
The authority has specifically taken strict action against wedding halls in Gulshan-e-Iqbal and North Nazimabad among other areas and has pledged to take down all ‘illegal’ buildings in the city.
“The field officers have been instructed to prepare a list of all the buildings that need to be demolished,” said SBCA Senior Director Adil Umar.
Initially, a record of 600 buildings has come forward of which most of them are located in North Nazimabad, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, and Liaquatabad.
