Building construction business going to halt as CDGK declares KBCA building plans illegal

KBCA-CDGK conflict worsens over non-transferring of betterment charges:

February 2, 2010
By Irfan Aligi

KARACHI: City District Government Karachi (CDGK) has declared as illegal all the building plans that have been approved by the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA). The CDGK has moved to this after reviewing all such plans for which the KBCA has so far failed to pay to the CDGK legal charges.

The CDGK has claimed that the KBCA had in violated the rules laid in the Sindh Local Government Ordinance after it had failed to transfer mentionable amounts of money to CDGK, which the KBCA has collected in terms of betterment charges while it approved the building plans. The situation has caused the CDGK to suffer colossal loss.

The CDGK also claimed that the KBCA had conveyed to the CDGK that it had not transferred the collected sum of money for the betterment charges to the CDGK because of the displeasure of Sindh Local Government minister thus the KBCA Chief Controller had refrained to carry out the task of transferring the money.

The CDGK has termed the failure to transfer due amounts of money to CDGK a backlash at a time when the CDGK was already passing through serious retrenchments of funds and the CDGK employees have suffered for delayed disbursement of salaries and legal perks and other benefits.

Henceforth, the CDGK has decided to take the matter to City Council where a resolution would be passed to declare all KBCA building plans null and void especially that have been approved during past six months.

There is a strong likelihood that the situation would create a fuss for the building construction businesses in the city and the Town Municipal Administrations and the Union Councils might take a strong action to prevent any such commencement unless the dispute was not settled at the higher level.