KARACHI: Director General Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) Shamsuddin Soomro, after listening to the problems and grievances being faced by business community in dealing with SBCA matters, announced to deploy an SBCA official at the Karachi Chamber once in two weeks so that the problems being suffered by KCCI members could be extensively discussed and amicably resolved at the earliest possible time.

The announcement was made by DG SBCA during a meeting of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI).

While nominating an SBCA Director for holding meetings at KCCI once in two weeks, DG SBCA appreciated the valuable inputs provided by KCCI and assured to give full support and deliver his best as per mandate.

“Although there are certain limitations and hurdles but I will try to do whatever is best for this city.”

He said that the deployment of SBCA official at KCCI would certainly lead to expediting the cases which have been pending at SBCA for review and approvals.

Shamsuddin Soomro further pointed out that in order to review the progress of Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme and also SBCA’s performance, two meetings are held

every week, of which the first one is held on every Tuesday with Chairman Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority Lt. General (Retd.) Anwar Ali Haider while the other is presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan on almost every Thursday hence, the SBCA and its DG are subjected to very close surveillance.

“Within a period of hardly five months, 45 cases of Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme were approved whereas about 65 cases have been approved so far since the PM announced the scheme.

“A timeframe has been defined to process cases of this scheme for which the prime minister has allowed 60 days once the application is received and construction permit is granted but we have been able to do it within 45 days,” he added.

“Efforts are being made to improve working environment at SBCA which is not the same as it had been in the past,” he claimed, adding that strict action was being taken against any wrongdoing which can be gauged from the fact that around 350 SBCA officials are currently undergoing disciplinary action.

“My tenure is being considered as a martial law at SBCA where many officials find themselves getting suffocated as they are not used to doing the kind of work free of cost which I compel them to do.”

He further said that more than 70 percent of the illegal constructions in the city have stopped while corruption at the SBCA has also gone down.

“When I assumed charge, a total of 490 sites having illegal floors existed in the city, of which 350 sites have been demolished within four to five months which is remarkable.

“The number of demolitions, which remained confined to just one to two each day, have also been raised to 10 to 12 per day despite capacity constraints. Although the chief minister desires 100 demolitions per day but the available resources at the SBCA only allow 10 to 15 demolitions per day.”

Chairman BMG Zubair Motiwala, while referring to Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme, stressed the need to define precise timeframe for making low-cost housing scheme successful.

“All the documentation and approvals must be completed within 15 days otherwise the relevant officers should be suspended,” he added.

In order to improve the performance of SBCA and minimize the grievances being faced by the business community, he requested DG SBCA to give KCCI representation on various committees being formed at the SBCA which create a strong liaison and go in favor of SBCA. He also asked to create an SBCA counter at the KCCI where an official should be available for two to three hours to resolve the issues being faced by the business community. President KCCI Shariq Vohra pointed out that due to lack of master plan for Karachi, mushroom and chaotic construction took place, making a big mess all over Karachi which requires attention.

He also underscored the need to take the Karachi chamber on board so that this chamber could share its wisdom with the SBCA which would certainly go in favour of the SBCA and help in building a worthy Karachi.

He also expressed deep concerns over “unbridled corruption” and “the misuse of power by SBCA officials” that have been constantly creating problems for the businessmen associated with the construction sector “with the only intention to gain personal benefits”.

“Because of massive corruption, the required approvals from SBCA are usually delayed for a year and even more that affects the cost of the project due to rising prices of raw materials including steel bars and cement etc., making them costlier for the public and beyond their reach.

Hence, DG SBCA must take concrete steps to deal with this issue and ensure speedy processing and approval of cases by the SBCA, he added.

Senior Vice President Saqib Goodluck, Vice President Shamsul Islam Khan, Chairman of KCCI’s Subcommittee for Real Estate & Construction Altaf Tai, former president KCCI Abdullah Zaki and others attended the meeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021