Construction of illegal high-rise buildings: Supreme Court reiterates resolve for across the board action

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reiterated its resolve for across the board action against the construction of illegal high-rise buildings in Lahore and directed the city government to submit a comprehensive report regarding a controversial plaza owned by Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah in a week.
Heading a three-judge bench, Justice Javed Iqbal pointed to the recent hue and cry that court was not taking any action against the plaza owned by Punjab law minister and observed that the court will take action against illegal construction irrespective of the fact that how powerful a person is. A bench comprising Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed and Justice Muhammad Sair Ali postponed the matter for one week.
To a court's query, Advocate Khawaja Haris, counsel for Lahore Development Authority (LDA) stated that the plaza owned by Rana Sanaullah was included in his earlier report. However, he said a special committee has been constituted to look into the matter.
When asked about the action against LDA officials who allowed illegal construction of high-rise buildings, Mian Iftikhar, a representative of the city government said that in addition to the departmental proceedings, cases of Anti-corruption has been registered against those involved. In addition, several officials have been denied bail, he added.
At this juncture, the court directed Director Anti-Corruption to apprise in person regarding the action taken against officials of the LDA on next hearing. Justice Raja Fayyaz observed that buildings/plazas which have been declared illegal or built using substandard material should be banned for public use to avert any disaster.
The issue had emerged when Farooq Hameed, a citizen of Lahore had urged the court to stop illegal construction of a monstrous high-rise building, 'Boulevard Heights' (18 floors plus basement) on the Main Gulberg Boulevard that created structural damages to his bungalow situated adjacent to the 18-storey building.
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 regulating the subject, as a result whereof these multi-storeyed buildings had become a grave threat to the lives and the 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 detail survey in this regard. The commission submitted its report and pointed out about 400 buildings were constructed illegally in the city. These buildings are constructed without 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.