Demolition of high-rise buildings: Supreme Court to comb through commission's report

The Supreme Court on Thursday observed that it would not issue any injunction order to stop demolition of illegally constructed high-rise buildings in Lahore without combing the subject record and report submitted by the commission.
Former president of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Aitzaz Ahsan, representing the Association of Builders and Developers, urged the court to stay the process of demolition of high-rise buildings till the decision of the case. Ahsan said that the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) had declared demolition of high-rise buildings in pursuance of the orders of the apex court, whereas the court had not passed such order.
A three-member bench of the apex court, comprising Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed and Justice Sair Ali, observed that the court had issued a guideline according to which if a building did not fulfil the criteria, should be demolished.
Ahsan said that the commission was assigned the task to compile a detailed report and had no authority to execute the wrong doers. "The trend of high-rise buildings is being promoted across the world, but in Pakistan the case is otherwise," he added. Justice Javed Iqbal promptly remarked that high-rise buildings, built under the laid down law and criteria, were encouraged across the world. Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahemd observed that high-rise buildings had been erected even without the approval of maps by the LDA.
The issue had emerged when Farooq Hameed, citizen of Lahore, had urged the court to issue order for stopping illegal construction of monstrous high-rise building, "Boulevard Heights" (18 floors plus basement) on the Main Gulberg Boulevard, that created structural damages to his adjacent bungalow.
On May 11, 2007, the SC passed an order and held: "we were horrified to notice that the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and other governmental agencies had allowed construction of high-rise buildings in the city of Lahore without following the laws, as a result these multi-storeyed buildings had become a grave threat to the lives and properties not only of the people living, occupying or using the said buildings, but also of a multitude of others, ie, the neighbours, the visitors and even the ones passing by.
The court had also constituted a commission, headed by Justice Riaz Kiyani, to conduct detailed survey in this regard. The commission submitted its report, and pointed out that about 400 buildings were constructed illegally in the city. These buildings were constructed without the approved maps and against the prescribed rules and regulations of the constructions, the report said.
In the light of report, submitted by the commission on December 26, 2009, the LDA issued notices to 39 owners and occupants in the first phase, and asked them to vacate the premises within two days. After hearing preliminary arguments, the court adjourned for Friday.