The response to my column last Sunday has been tremendous. Numerous co-members of the dissolved governing body of the Karachi Development Authority and the similarly dissolved Karachi Building Control Authority oversee committee have contacted me and all have reminded me that in mid-2001 they had opposed the promulgation of any measures to 'regularize' illegal structures in the city of Karachi.

On 3 May 2001, Senator Mazhar Ali and I, both members of the governing body, strongly objected to the recommendations on 'regularization' that were sent to the governor of Sindh by the governing body.

A resolution was passed on August 8, 2001, at a meeting of the oversee committee at which were present the following members: the then chief controller of buildings, Brigadier Dr Zafar Ahmad Malik, a representative of the Landhi Development Authority, architect Syed Kalimuddin, chairman of the Pakistan Council of Architects, engineer Nooruddin Ahmad of the Pakistan Engineering Council, Raza Gardezi of Shehri, Architect Saleem Thariani of the Indus Valley School, engineer Abdul Samad Khan of the Nadirshaw Eduljee Dinshaw Engineering University, and myself representing the citizens of Karachi.

It was resolved that: "The committee strongly objects to the draft proposal approved by the Sindh cabinet on 25/7/01 for the regularization of illegal buildings in Karachi for the following reasons: 1) The government must maintain law and order and implement its writ without bowing down before law-breakers. 2) Mass regularization is a negation of the citizens' fundamental right to life. 3) Such regularization will open the floodgates of escalated illegal construction. 4) The town-planning and zonal regulations of the city will become meaningless. 5) The physical and social amenities/infrastructure in the city will collapse. 6) The quality of life and the state of the environment will be degraded beyond recognition.

"We do not believe that many builders/occupants will come forward to have their illegal structures regularized, nor will the government collect billions in penalties. We are also of the firm belief that this proposed amendment will not revive the building industry. We are fearful of the hazardous consequences of such a lax policy regarding the built environment and draw the attention of the government to the tragedies experienced in Turkey and Gujarat in recent years. We refuse to be a party to this mockery of the law.

"Rather, we urge the government of Sindh to: 1) Put an effective stop to the present on-going illegal construction that is being patronized by various corrupt officers. 2) Implement court directives regarding the demolition of unauthorized structures. 3) Take errant builders and government officers to task. 4) Ignore the rest of the illegalities until something can be done about them. 5) Enforce the existing building laws and regulations in letter and spirit for all new constructions. 6) Prepare and implement a master plan for the city that will provide a better quality of life for all citizens.

"A copy of this resolution is being sent to the president, the governor of Sindh and his cabinet members, commander 5 corps, and the chief secretary of Sindh."

On October 22, 2001, on behalf of the KDA governing body, I forwarded to the secretary, housing and town planning, a final approved version of the Karachi building & town planning regulations that had for the past four years been under preparation by six committees (including one that monitored the public objections/comments on the document).

Governing body member architect, urban designer & town planner Arif Hasan, in a covering letter attached to the document, on the subject of the 'violation of lease conditions', specifically stated: "The changes in the town planning regulations violate the lease conditions of various lessors (KDA, KMC, BOR, societies, KPT, etc). Such violations, under the present laws, cannot be permitted.

As such, we have added a clause 1-2.2 application of lease conditions, which states 'If and whenever these regulations contravene the provision of the inherent land grant conditions of the plot, as per the building and town planning regulations 1979, the approval of building plans shall be in accordance with land grant conditions of the plot'."

When the Regulations were notified on April 4, 2002, it was found that Arif's clause 1-2.2 had been deleted. However, deleting this clause does not change the lawful requirement that the lease/land-grant conditions supersede the building regulations.

Ad hoc changes to the land-grant conditions (which, in effect, interfere with the town planning and zoning of an area) cannot be done without a mandatory and elaborate procedure involving the invitation and subsequent consideration of public objections to the change, followed by the provision of the required utilities, infrastructure and social amenities which have naturally been enhanced.

The Karachi Building Control Authority is now misusing the new regulations to violate the covenants of the lease/land-grant. Building plans are being approved in contravention of the local sanctioned town-planning schemes, and in violation of applicable zoning regulations. One such example is the recently advertised 'Diplomat Residency' in Civil Lines. This will cause chaos, people will be tempted to buy apartments prior to the start of construction, and obviously generate much fresh litigation.

Those not thoroughly confused by all this may read on.

The former chief controller of buildings, Brigadier Engineer Dr Zafar Ahmad Malik, an honest officer and gentleman, subsequently resigned from the job and went off to teach. Our fiscally honest but morally challenged governor of Sindh, Mohammadmian Soomro, had a sudden brainwave. He decided to sidetrack the chief of his inspection team (which more or less has now packed up) and, it being beyond his competence to retire a retired brigadier, he propelled him upwards and sent him off to fill the post vacated by Brigadier Malik.

It seems, if one can make any sense of the current disgraceful shenanigans and double deals being perpetrated to attempt to provide this province with a government, that Mohammadmian's days are numbered. By next week we are programmed to have a new man in the governor's house. It may very well be, since nothing in this country ever improves, that we will bitterly regret Mohammadmian's departure. He may also regret his departure.

It is said that his ambition is to get into the honourable upper house, become its chairman, and thus achieve the distinction (with its incumbent advantages) of being acting-president in the absence of Musharraf from the country. However, he has stiff competition. The evergreen man of admirable consistency, Rhodes scholar Waseem Sajjad, who has held the post of chairman of the Senate for longer than anyone else, has his beady eyes set on getting back into the seat again.

How wrong was the conqueror of Sindh, General Sir Charles Napier, when in 1850 on his departure from Karachi he said: "You will yet be the glory of the East; would that I could come again, Karachi, to see you in your grandeur." Lucky Napier; no way can he come again to see Karachi in the glory of its degradation.