KMC told to restore public parking opposite Imtiaz superstore

Restraining the Imtiaz Super Market in Gulshan-e-Iqbal from using the land in front of the building that houses the superstore exclusively for customer parking, the Sindh High Court has directed the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to restore public parking in the space.

The order came on Tuesday on a petition against illegal occupation of public parking space by a private builder and the management of the superstore. Petitioner Rizwan and others said the Saima Royal Residency had leased out his parking portion and basement space to the Imtiaz Super Market at Rashid Minhas Road in Gulshan-e-Iqbal in violation of building by-laws, rules and regulations.

The petitioners said that instead of arranging a parking space for their customers and residents within the boundary walls of their projects, the private respondents occupied the public plot allocated for public parking space.

They requested the court to direct the respondents to vacate the public parking space and arrange a parking facility for their customers and residents within its boundary walls. The KMC master plan senior director and the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) deputy director appeared before the court and produced the original master plan of the area, according to which the space in question was categorised as public car parking.

They said the space was being used by the Saima Royal Residency and the Imtiaz superstore for their own car parking, adding that the space was not supposed to be for their exclusive car parking but, instead, was a public car parking.

They assured the court that the space would be used exclusively for public car parking and the respondents would not be allowed to use the space for their personal and exclusive use. They said action would be taken against the respondents if in future they were found to have been using such a space for exclusive purposes.

The petitioners’ counsel expressed satisfaction over the KMC and SBCA officials’ statements and did not press the petition, following which the court disposed of the petition. The court also directed the KMC and the SBCA to ensure that the space was used exclusively as public car parking and that the superstore and the multi-storeyed building were not allowed to charge any fees for parking of vehicles by the public in the space opposite the building.

The court observed that the KMC and the SBCA would be at liberty to take appropriate action against the private builder and the superstore if they violated the law regarding the public parking space.