An offer of expression of interest was published in leading newspapers about demolishing a 15-storey residential building, Nasla Tower, in the safest and quickest manner. The offer was issued by the Karachi Commissioner’s office.
The residential project Nasla Tower is built over 1,121 square yards on Plot No193-A in the Sindh Muslim Cooperative Housing Society or SMCHS at Shahrea Faisal.
According to the advertisement, preference would be given to companies with expertise in demolishing buildings through controlled implosion.
It stated that offers “may be submitted in the Karachi Commissioner Office within three days of this publication”.
But, the real story is different.
On Tuesday, a meeting regarding the demolition of Nasla Tower was held at Karachi Commissioner’s Office, presided over by newly-appointed Commissioner Iqbal Memon.
Among others, the meeting was attended by officers of the Corps V, Frontier Works Organisation or FWO, National Logistics Company or NLC, Sindh Building Control Authority or SBCA, Mineral and Mines Department, KMC, Sindh Solid Waste Management Board, East district administration and NED experts.
A senior officer provided details about the entire development regarding the demolition of Nasla Tower.
He said: “Officers at the meeting told Karachi commissioner that they did not have the required expertise and equipment for demolishing Nasla Tower via a controlled implosion blast.
According to them, a controlled detonation “may collapse the Nursery Bridge, adjacent buildings and water and other utility pipelines”.
A controlled detonation was not possible “because the building is located in a densely populated area with a heavy traffic flow”.
Commissioner Iqbal Memon urged officials to provide solutions for demolishing Nasla Tower.
In this context, the deputy commissioner East district, Asif Jan, suggested that the commissioner’s office could publish an advertisement, seeking expression of interest letters from private companies with the requisite expertise for demolishing the building by way of a controlled implosion.
He suggested providing a three-day deadline for inviting expression of interest.
All participants agreed to this recommendation.
The expression of interest was published in newspapers in accordance with the decision of the Karachi commissioner and other officials at the meeting.
What will happen next?
The senior officer said that another solution was to hand over the demolition of Nasla Tower to KMC’s anti-encroachment department if no one came forward after three days of the publication of the advertisement.
The meeting decided that the KMC anti-encroachment department was already engaged in removing encroachments over Mehmoodabad, Gujjar and Orangi nullahs.
KMC’s performance in demolishing encroachments in Aladin Park, Empress Market, KDA Officers’ Club and other operations.
Initially, the officer said, the meeting decided to engage three or four teams for demolishing Nasla Tower. More teams could be added at a later stage, he said.
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Nasla Tower residents gather as an SSG worker disconnects gas supply on Tuesday, October 26, 2021. PHOTO SOHAIL RAB KHAN
He said: that the officers had agreed that this was necessary to start complying with the orders of the apex court.
The authorities decided to start demolition work immediately and seek more time if seven proved to be inadequate in this regard.
Background:
The Supreme Court order, asking the authorities concerned to use “controlled detonation” for demolishing Nasla Tower made headlines on Monday and Tuesday.
The district administration served notices on residents of Nasla Tower earlier this month. They were told to vacate the building by Wednesday, October 27.
District East had issued the notices on October 12 after the apex court rejected a review petition against its June order.
The notices indicated that the Karachi commissioner “has to submit a report about the implementation of the Supreme Court’s instructions and ensure that the building is vacated”.
Most of the residents left the doomed Nasla Tower in Karachi on Tuesday as authorities cut the utility connections and prepared to take down the building in a controlled blast to implement orders from the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Photos: Online pic.twitter.com/6OvOsIi6j3
— Samaa English (@SamaaEnglish) October 27, 2021
“Take notice that you are required to vacate the building i.e. Nasla Tower within 15 days,” the notices read.
The district authorities also advertised the same notices in local newspapers.
Nasla Tower was declared to have been built on encroached land by the Supreme Court on June 16 this year.
Subsequently, the builder and residents had filed separate review petitions to stop the authorities from demolishing it.
At a hearing on September 23, the petitioners’ lawyer argued that the construction was allowed despite lease cancellations, adding that in these circumstances, the residents were not at fault.
Justice Ijazul Ahsan replied that all residents should have checked the legality of the apartments before they bought them. “Are you not aware of the forgery that takes place in the city? How can you buy a house without inspection?”
He reassured that the people affected by the demolition of the building would be paid compensation, according to the market value of Nasla Tower, by the government within three months and told the authorities concerned to demolish the building without any delay.
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