Prosperity of construction industry: ABAD submits charter of demand to Sindh CM

KARACHI: The Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) Chairman, Mohsin Shaikhani, on Wednesday submitted a five-point charter of demands regarding the prosperity and safety of the construction industry to Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah.

Addressing to a press conference, he said they were not demanding any concessions or land from the provincial government. “All we want is permission to work as per the law,” he said, adding that Abad is against illegal constructions and has always raised its voice against all illegal constructions.

Abad’s senior vice chairperson Muhammad Hanif Memon, vice chairperson Altaf Kantawala, Abad Southern Region chairperson Sufyan Adhya were also present at the presser.

Sharing details of their charter of demands, he said that they had demanded to formulate a single authority, which cannot be challenged for the issuance of various non-objection certificates (NOCs) to the builders.

He said that they construct buildings after paying billions of rupees taxes, abiding by all the laws and then they come to know that due to a few irregularities, their buildings are to be demolished. With the establishment of a single authority registration for builders, the construction industry in the province will grow, people will get job opportunities and Sindh’s economy will also improve.

He also demanded to formulate a master plan of Karachi in a span of one year and said all stakeholders be included for the formulation of the masterplan. With the preparation of the master plan of the city, the infrastructure of Karachi will be strengthened and other issues such as of documentation will be addressed.

He said that they had demanded the chief minister to form a commissioner against illegal buildings like that constituted in Punjab so that every case was heard legally and issues were resolved once and for all.

Shaikhani pointed out that if the construction industry was adversely affected in the city, several of its linked industries will also suffer. He said that the city’s engineers, students passing out of universities would be deprived of jobs. There are millions of skilled and unskilled labourers attached with the construction industry, he added.