SHC suspends SBCA official for submitting fake compliance report

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has suspended the assistant director of the Sindh Building Control Authority for Landhi Town for floating its orders and submitting a fake compliance report in respect of an unauthorised construction.

The direction came during the hearing of a petition of Darakhshan Javed with regard to an unauthorised construction in Landhi.

The court also referred the matter to the National Accountability Bureau to inquire and investigate the matter and initiate proceedings against SBCA officers who granted permission for the unauthorised construction of ground-plus four floors.

A division bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi observed that officials of the SBCA such as the assistant director and the deputy director of Landhi Town allowed the unauthorised construction over the 333-square-yard plot despite the file of the plot being still untraceable.

The court observed that the SBCA officials filed a misleading report falsely saying that the third and fourth floors of the building had been demolished despite the fact that construction continued and crossed beyond fourth floor.

It further observed that the SBCA officials submitted a compliance report with a covering letter of approval of ground-plus two floors without an actual plan and documents pertaining to the amalgamation of the plot.

The court observed that despite the lapse of one year, the SBCA failed to file comments and were unable to produce the file of the approved plan and the construction was continued.

It stated that the SBCA officials submitted a fake compliance report on February 6, 2020, by the deputy director of the SBCA (industrial cell) and floated the court orders when an inspection of the plot in question was carried out.

The bench sent the matter to NAB authorities to inquire and investigate the matter and initiate proceedings if misconduct had been found against the SBCA officials with regard to the unauthorized construction and how the files of the subject plot for construction and amalgamation were missed by the SBCA officials.

The court suspended the assistant director of the SBCA Landhi town and barred him from performing his duties till further orders.

It directed the SBCA director and the deputy director concerned to appear along with the relevant record if available with them, failing which an appropriate order in this regard would also be passed.