ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice was told on Tuesday that the junction of three Tectonic plates located in Karachi make it one of the most vulnerable cities of the world for future earthquakes. The other city in the list of two most vulnerable cities for earthquakes is Los Angeles.
A briefing by the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) on draft ‘Penalty Provisions and Implementation Mechanism of Building Code of Pakistan’ was an eye opener for the senators as they listened to the faults committed in the construction of buildings all over the country. They were informed that Margalla hills also falls in a fault zone but the Capital development Authority has not conducted any study on this issue.
PEC representative Tahir Shamshad briefed the senators about the need of strict implementation of new building codes and the draft proposal prepared by the PEC as a guiding tool to prepare the law on this issue. He said that the only Tehsil safe from earthquake danger is Bahawalpur whereas all other tehsils require to adjust their building rules according to the geographical conditions.
While identifying major mistakes in the construction of buildings, he said that unsupported columns, unsupported brick structure, poor design detailing, construction in episodes, poor reinforcement detailing, undefined load paths, layman designs and not properly anchored walls are some of the major mistakes committed in construction.
The PEC suggested three-step procedure for administration and implementation of Building Code of Pakistan-Seismic Provisions 2007. The procedure mainly includes amendment in by-laws, establishment of Structural Safety Cell (SSC) with powers to vet structural designs and carry out site visits besides creating awareness on structural safety and formulation of Standard Operating Procedure.
The SSC will also have the power to demolish to stop construction of any building violation and shall be compensated with increased allowances and 10 per cent of penalty amount as incentives. Penalties will be imposed on structural design engineer, vetting design engineer and architect in case of the violation of building code.
Chairperson Standing Committee Senator Javed Abbasi appreciated the work of PEC and directed the Ministry of Law and Justice to prepare a comprehensive law around the work of PEC so that damage can be avoided in case of any major earthquake in future. Senator Saeed Ghani suggested taking provincial governments on board before the formulation of legislation so that the law can be passed and adopted in the provinces as well.
On illegal housing schemes, the committee was informed that there are four housing schemes in Islamabad where serious violations of law were identified which includes Soan Gardens, Pak-Medical Housing Scheme, Multi Gardens and Jammu and Kashmir Cooperative Housing Scheme where construction was carried out in areas reserved for schools, gardens and other public facilities. The representative of Capital Development Authority (CDA) said that FIR has been registered against the owner of one housing schemes.
Javed Abbasi asked the CDA and ICT administrations to take strict action against the culprits and provide details of violations done by private housing societies and the penalties imposed on CDA officials for their involvement in those violations as the committee was of the opinion that no violation can be done without the involvement of government officials.
The committee also approved an amendment in Patent Ordinance 2000 and Unattended-Orphans (Rehabilitation and Welfare) Act 2013. The Unattended-Orphans Act defines unattended children as children with unknown parentage, abandoned and not in the legal custody of anyone. Under this act, the relevant government departments will be bound to maintain a register of such children and establish a child abode to provide free boarding and lodging of such children.
In his remarks on new legislation, Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice said that Ministry of Human Rights in the process of bringing a comprehensive Child Protection Bill which will cover all these aspects. They said that the draft bill is under consideration in the Legal Reform Committee and will be presented in parliament in one month.
Responding to the update, Senators Aitazaz Ahsan, Ali Khan Saif and Saeed Ghani said that every issue related to children must be addressed immediately. They said that the legislation to protect unattended children is already late and the bill should proceed to parliament.
On Senators Saeed Ghani’s proposed amendment in the Constitution to reserve four seats for workers, the Standing Committee formed a three member sub-committee to discuss the possibilities and repercussions of introducing such a change in the Constitution.
The committee also held discussions on amendments in Pakistan’s Standard and Quality Control Authority Act 1996 and asked the representatives of Pakistan’s Standard and Quality Control Authority to submit the final bill to the legal branch of the Senate.
