The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to file comments on a petition against the commercial use of a property in the residential area of the old Sabzi Mandi.
Petitioner Khalida Shakeel had submitted in the petition that she was residing in Goharabad in the Old Sabzi Mandi area where a residential building near her house was being used for a commercial purpose.She submitted that a private respondent was using heavy machinery that had not only affected the houses of neighbours but also damaged the streets and drainage system in the area in addition to causing air and water pollution. She submitted that the local administration had been approached to stop illegal commercial activities in the residential area but no action was taken by the KMC or the SBCA.
She submitted that the Supreme Court had held in various judgments that commercial activities could not be done on a residential area and official respondents had failed to comply with the court directives.A counsel for the petitioner also filed an application for appointment of the Nazir of the court to inspect the site situated in Goharabad, Old Sabzi Mandi.
The counsel submitted that heavy machinery had been installed by the private respondent that generated huge vibrations in the surroundings causing damage to residential houses in the vicinity of the petitioner and others.
The high court was requested to restrain the private respondent from using the residential property for commercial purposes and direct him to pay compensation for damages occurred to the house of the petitioner due to his illegal act. A division bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi directed the SBCA, KMC and private respondent, and called their comments by November 23.
