Construction of new high-rises banned in city

The Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) has with immediate effect imposed a ban on the construction multi–storey buildings in the Karachi region.

An announcement to this effect came on Thursday when the authority issued a notification while acting on the Supreme Court order of March 16, 2017.

According to the notification, issued by SBCA Director General Agha Maqsood Abbas, in future, only ground-plus-two buildings would be allowed in the city. 

Dozens of high-rises without a parking lot have been built in the metropolis over the past decade, causing civic problems.

Earlier, the Sindh High Court had ordered the SBCA to stop issuing new no-objection certificates for high-rises in the Mirpurkhas district.

The Hyderabad Circuit Bench had ordered the authority to create a master plan for the Mirpurkhas city before the ban on high-rises could be lifted.

The order came over a petition filed by a citizen, Abdul Nasir Khan, a resident of the Mirpurkhas district.

During the hearing, a report prepared by the Mirpurkhas commissioner was submitted to the Sindh High Court, according to which 16 high-rises had been built in the district so far.