Skip to main content

Karachi’s billion rupee loss

The Sindh’s inquiries and anti-corruption establishment has unearthed a mega corruption scandal worth Rs 5 billion in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), which were collected from the people of the city since 2008.
Inside sources told Pakistan Today that the Sindh Building Control Authority had collected more than Rs 5 billion from Karachiites under the claims of Betterment Charges on the construction of high-rise/multi-storied buildings.
According to sources, the SBCA made amendments in the Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations, 2002 through which the covered area of plot is governed by floor area ratio (FAR) and not number of floors. “The load over the existing infrastructure has increased and SBCA has also recovered Rs 50 per sq ft from the owners/builders of plots which lie outside the boundary limit of KDA schemes”, sources added.
Interestingly, the sources disclosed that officials of the Finance Section, SBCA transferred more than Rs 3772.172 million to the defunct City District Government Karachi which is now the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation. Sources said that the SBCA Director Administration had also disclosed this before the NAB investigators few months ago, however, the matter was brushed under the carpet.
The inquiries and anti-corruption department has now forwarded a letter to the Director General SBCA asking for provision of details about the utilization of betterment charges.
“Whereas the competent authority has taken cognizance of the complaint under the provisions of Rules and Laws governing criminal jurisprudence. That during the course of probe, it has been surfaced that huge amount collected by SBCA in the head of betterment charges has been further allocated to various entities but has either not been utilized or partially utilized and huge amount has been siphoned off, illegally”, a letter read, a copy of which is exclusively available with Pakistan Today.
“According to the matter required, through inquiry because of large stakes of the public, you are therefore requested to provide complete attested details with effect from January 2008 till date within 3 days on receipt of this letter to the undersigned at Barrack No 14 Court Road, Sadder Karachi in above referred. Compliance is must under the law to avoid any complications”, the letter adds.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Karachi – the city where your ‘mochi’ can also mend your soul

The 42-year-old Khan took over his father’s mochi business after the latter retired four years ago. PHOTO: SARAH FAZLI Karachi is home to the most diverse of populations across Pakistan. Muslims, non-Muslims, Shia, Sunni, Muhajir, Balochi, Sindhi, Pashtun, Kashmiri, and also many other minority groups; many a people have found home here. Some of them love Karachi, others hate it. But Karachi has embraced them all – giving them the freedom to be themselves. Some folks weave dreams during the day. Some have adopted a nocturnal lifestyle and work during the night. Some read Jane Austen, while some unfalteringly quote  Faiz Ahmad Faiz . Some revere and find solace in its shrines. And yet, others destroy the very sanctity of those shrines. Some try to restore its glory, while others try to slaughter this goose to steal all its golden eggs. All of this happens at once, and this diversity is what makes Karachi both beautiful and painful. Vibrant and colourful, yet...

Farewell to our very own star on Earth, the extraordinary Stephen Hawking

Media Watchdog Farewell to our very own star on Earth, the extraordinary Stephen Hawking By  Salman Hameed   Published: March 15, 2018 65 SHARES   SHARE   TWEET   EMAIL At the age of 22, he was diagnosed with a rare motor neuron disease and was given only a couple of years to live. PHOTO: AFP “They’re named black holes because they are related to human fears of being destroyed or gobbled up. I don’t have fears of being thrown into them. I understand them. I feel in a sense that I am their master.” These are  the words  of Stephen Hawking who  passed away  on March 14 th  at the age of 76. He was not afraid of death. And why would he be? He was told, at the age of 22, that he was suffering from a rare motor neuron disease and was given only a couple of years to live. But nobody loved defying odds as much as Hawking did, and so instead, he lived another five decades and became one of the most celebrated ...

Notification issued for composition of new administrative divisions in Mohmand, Khyber

Over a month after landmark legislation was passed to merge the tribal districts with the settled areas, the provincial government on Thursday officially notified the administrative divisions and districts in the merged areas. A notification issued by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Board of Revenue on Thursday changed the geographic composition of Peshawar division by adding two tribal districts including Mohmand and Khyber, previously part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), along with the addition of the Frontier Region Peshawar. The Peshawar division now comprises five districts including Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Mohmand and Khyber. The notification further states that the administrative divisions have been altered in pursuant to 25th Amendment Act regarding the merger of the erstwhile Fata areas in the province and in the exercise of the powers conferred as per section 6, Chapter-II of Land Revenue Act 1967. NA passes ‘historic’ Fata, K-P merge...