Sindh govt suspends SBCA DG over Lyari building collapse: minister
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has suspended the director general of the Sindh Building and Control Authority over the recent building collapse in Karachi that claimed 27 lives, a minister said on Monday.
The five-storey building on Fida Husain Shaikha Road in Lea Market collapsed on Friday morning, with the rescue operations concluding yesterday. The building had already been declared uninhabitable by authorities due to its dilapidated structure, with the SBCA saying it had issued multiple prior notices to residents to vacate the structure since 2023.
“Today, the chief minister has also suspended the DG SCBA and has ordered the home minister to immediately register an FIR (first information report) on the incident and that strictest action be taken against all those involved,” Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said.
He was addressing a press conference in Karachi alongside Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar and Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani.
According to Ghani, some other officials who were suspended include the SBCA’s deputy director and building inspectors. He also noted that the Sindh government has announced Rs1 million in compensation to the families of the 27 deceased people.
Major opposition parties — the PTI, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Jamaat-i-Islami — have condemned the PPP’s Sindh government, the SBCA and other authorities, accusing them of “criminal negligence”.
They not only demanded compensation and alternative residences for the affected families, but also called for the registration of manslaughter cases against the officials responsible for the tragedy.
Noting the loss of 27 lives, Memon said: “The entire province, nation and all of us as the government representatives are saddened and equally share the grief of the bereaved families.”
“The chief minister has taken a very strict notice of this,” he asserted.
Memon said CM Murad’s notice of the incident was aimed at ensuring strict action “against those who did not fulfil their duties or even if they fulfilled, they were not able to implement them”.
He added that the fact-finding committee formed on the incident, which was given three days to present a report, would submit its report within two days due to the Ashura public holidays over the weekend. The committee will also include the Karachi commissioner, he added.
Ghani asserted that all the SBCA officers since 2022 will be identified and included in the inquiry, adding: “If the committee finds criminal negligence of any employee, they will be included in the FIR and face legal action.”
“The Karachi commissioner has to also provide assessments of the 588 buildings which were declared dangerous within two weeks so that we can decide which of the buildings need to be destroyed and which can be fixed through major repair,” he added.
In a recent statement, the SBCA noted that 588 buildings have been declared dangerous throughout Karachi, with 107 such buildings in Lyari alone.
More to follow