1 week Ago By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI - The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Sindh Assembly, taking notice of legal deficiencies in the Master Plan Authority of Mega City Karachi, on Thursday, directed to initiate process for drafting the Act and constituting Board of Governors to make the authority functional. “The Master Plan Authority has been notified, but where is the Master Plan?” the Chairman Public Accounts Committee Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, while chairing a meeting of the committee here at Sindh Assembly Building, questioned and directed to develop a futuristic master plan for Karachi. The PAC meeting was scheduled to review the audit issues of The Master Plan Authority of Karachi for the audit years 2019 and 2020, said a statement issued here adding that, the committee member Qasim Siraj Soomro, Additional Chief Secretary Local Government Khalid Haider Shah, Director Master Plan Authority, DG Audit Sindh and other relevant officers attended the meeting.
It was revealed in the meeting that the Master Plan Authority (MPA) was established in 2019 to make a master plan for the metropolis but despite the passage of five years, no act of the authority has been drafted nor a board of governors has been formed. DG Audit Sindh raised a point that in absence of any act and BoG, the Master Plan Authority could not be considered as a legal and autonomous body. Additional Chief Secretary Khalid Haider Shah informed the PAC that till the approval of the MPA Act, the authority has been working under the Sindh Building Control Authority.
On Chairman’s query, MPA official informed that 50 employees are working in the authority which issues outline under the master plan while keeping in view the infrastructure of Karachi, while no-objection certificate (NOC) of the buildings are issued by the Sindh Building Control Authority and the Water Board; and the MPA on basis of those NOCs issues the final NOC. Chairman PAC Nisar Khuhro emphasized that builders should not be issued NOCs for buildings without fulfilment of all the building codes and proper planning and later monitoring of the construction should be ensured as well. Ali Zaryab’s 83*propels Pakistan Shaheens to triumph over Sri Lanka A He remarked that along with the surging population in Karachi city, the construction of buildings has been on increase as well but institutions concerned were issuing NOCs without looking into the basic infrastructure.
Khalid Haider Shah informed that the master plan of Karachi was made in 2007 when City District Governments were formed under then LG Act and after that the master plan of Karachi was not formally reviewed. Qasim Soomro stressed on proper planning and compliance of all the relevant rules while designing and developing the buildings and colonies, and said that buildings maps are being approved, but the builders are not keeping the infrastructure in mind which results into sewerage and other civic issues. The Nasla Tower was built without any planning and ultimately the people suffered, he said and urged to take action against those who issued the NOCs.
Tags: sindh assembly pac a.
