KARACHI, March 25: The Sindh High Court asked the provincial government on Thursday to produce the notification embodying the final settlement of the legal dispute between the city district government (CDGK) and the Karachi Building Control Authority.
Representing the Sindh government, Additional Advocate-General Qazi Khalid Ali submitted that he was appearing in the case for the first time but shared the court's concern that the controversy over exercise of powers should be amicably resolved at the earliest to facilitate smooth enforcement of the building control law.
The AAG stated that a high-level meeting presided over by the provincial chief secretary and attended, among others, by the city nazim and the KBCA chief controller was held in pursuance of the court order of March 18.
The controversy was finally resolved in agreement with the two organizations. The city government was to act as the parent body of the KBCA, which was to continue functioning under the provisions of the Sindh Building Control Authority, 1979.
KBCA counsel Shahid Jamil Khan submitted that the authority had received no notification determining its status. It has not been informed of the decisions taken by the high-level meeting and had no idea how it was to function under the new dispensation.
However, the CDGK executive district officer for finance asked the chief controller of buildings through a letter dated March 20 that since the KBCA stood merged in the CDGK, he should send the authority's budget estimates for the fiscal 2004-5 and revised estimates for 2003-4 to the city government for approval by the City Council. The EDO told the chief controller that the KBCA had no independent status and its staff was to be deployed by the CDGK.
Justices Sabihuddin Ahmed and Zia Perwez, who constituted the division bench seized of the matter, asked the AAG to produce the relevant notification determining the status of the KBCA on Friday morning.
The issue has arisen out of a non-governmental organization's petition against building regulations' violation in the Lyari Town. The bench ordered the demolition of the violative structures and the KBCA expressed its inability to comply owing to lack of resources and cooperation by the CDGK, the police and the public utilities.
NOTICE IN SUIT: Meanwhile, Justice Mushir Alam issued a notice to Shehri-CBE in a suit instituted by the KBCA against its 'harassment'.
The plaintiff alleged that the organization lodged 'bogus' complaints with the various executive and judicial functionaries, which were marked to it for clarification and explanation. It had a small staff to discharge its 'legally assigned' functions and the 'undue pressure' exerted by the NGO was a burden on its limited resources.
MOTORWAY EQUIPMENT: The Sindh High Court summoned the customs collector concerned on March 30 in a petition alleging 'seizure' of a consignment of material imported for the construction of the Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway.
Appearing for the National Highway Authority, Advocate Nisar A. Mujahid submitted that the 'expansion joints' meant for bridges on the rivers of Jhelum and Kabul on Motorway-I were specially manufactured by a French concern and imported by the project's Turkish contractors, who have since been relieved. The consignment got stuck at the Karachi port in the absence of documents.
The customs department decided to auction the consignment. The NHA challenged the decision and was allowed to pay an amount 10 per cent higher than the highest bid to obtain delivery of the consignment. The NHA paid the requisite amount but the customs department backed out of its commitment and sought to re-auction the rubber joints.
A division bench comprising Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Amir Hani Muslim stayed the fresh auction and asked the additional collector for appraisement to appear on March 30.
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