Sindh Real Estate News and Land Insights

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has rejected allegations of corruption in Sindh’s flood rehabilitation housing programme and called for an international audit to ensure transparency and address concerns over the use of reconstruction funds.

Speaking in Karachi on November 10, Bilawal accused political opponents of attempting to undermine the provincial government by alleging financial irregularities in the housing initiative. He directed Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to approach international organisations and invite independent auditors to examine the programme’s financial management and implementation.

Bilawal maintained that the project had been executed without corruption and expressed confidence that an independent review would establish its transparency.

According to the PPP chairman, the Sindh government has completed one million houses for families affected by devastating floods under the Sindh People’s Housing Scheme, which he described as the world's largest housing reconstruction initiative.

He said the programme aims to construct two million homes with assistance from international development partners. He also referred to a broader ambition of providing five million houses to flood-affected families. Highlighting the programme’s ownership arrangements, Bilawal said beneficiaries were receiving permanent housing alongside legal ownership rights to the land. He added that properties were being registered in women’s names to strengthen their financial security and provide greater stability to affected households.

Recalling the destruction caused by widespread flooding, Bilawal said he personally witnessed damaged homes and settlements during a visit to Larkana before accompanying the prime minister on an assessment of affected areas. He said the devastation had prompted him to promise displaced women that their homes would be rebuilt, describing the reported completion of one million houses as an important step towards fulfilling that commitment.

The PPP chairman also criticised the federal government’s earlier handling of reconstruction financing. He alleged that international financial institutions had been informed that provincial governments could not be trusted to administer reconstruction funds. However, Bilawal claimed that the World Bank had demonstrated confidence in Sindh’s administration by supporting the housing programme financially.

Comparing reconstruction progress across provinces, he said Sindh had completed one million homes, while approximately 30,000 houses had been constructed in Balochistan over three years under a federally managed initiative.

Bilawal also emphasised the importance of cooperation between federal and provincial administrations, arguing that political differences should not obstruct housing reconstruction, healthcare delivery or economic development. He acknowledged an improvement in relations under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and said recent discussions with federal representatives had resulted in an agreement to maintain coordination on governance and development priorities.

Responding to concerns raised by Lahore’s business community over political instability, Bilawal stressed that cooperation among political parties was essential for addressing Pakistan’s economic and administrative challenges.

The proposed international audit would provide an opportunity for independent examination of the housing programme’s financing, construction progress and implementation, although no audit timetable or participating organisation was announced.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has ruled that permission to commercialise a residential plot does not, by itself, authorise construction or structural changes without approval from the relevant authority.

A two-member constitutional bench, headed by Justice Riazat Ali Sahar, directed the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) to determine whether construction on a 1,000-square-yard plot in Block D, North Nazimabad, complied with the law. The authority must examine the property’s building plan, any later approvals, the no-objection certificate (NOC) for change of land use and any revised or amended plans. It must issue a reasoned order within 60 days and take lawful action if unauthorised construction is established.

The petition was filed in 2017 by a man who alleged that his elder brother had carried out additional construction, including two showrooms, in violation of the approved plan. He argued that the NOC for commercialisation was conditional and did not permit construction that departed from the sanctioned building plan. In its comments, the SBCA said the property’s original plan, approved in 1974, was for a ground-plus-one-floor residential bungalow. Permission to operate a restaurant was granted in 1998, while the City District Government Karachi issued an NOC for commercialisation or change of land use in 2006.

The authority said additions and alterations began in 2017, prompting it to issue a show-cause notice to the owner. The owner responded that the property had already been permitted for commercial use. In his counter-affidavit, he also said the petitioner was his younger brother and that the petition stemmed from disputes over the restaurant business and a separate lawsuit concerning ownership and business interests. The bench noted that a court nazir inspected the property in 2018. The report described a ground-plus-one-storey building with shops on the ground floor and a restaurant, which was non-functional and in a dilapidated condition. The SBCA officials produced a proposed layout showing a residential bungalow, but no approved layout authorising commercial use or division of the plot into shops, the report stated.

The court referred to Section 6(1) of the Sindh Building Control Ordinance, 1979, which required approval of a building plan and the necessary NOC before construction. It also noted that Section 7-A empowered the competent authority to order the demolition of construction carried out in violation of Section 6(1), alongside other action permitted by law.
Citing Supreme Court rulings, the bench said the power to regularise deviations was limited and could not be used to validate violations that materially changed a proposed structure or harmed the rights and interests of others. It also highlighted the need to consider civic facilities, including water, electricity and sewerage, when reviewing the conversion of residential properties and approving construction.

The bench observed that the constitutional right to life under Article 9 extends beyond mere existence to include the conditions needed to live with dignity, including a healthy environment. Public authorities, it said, are required to enforce the law where unauthorised development affects civic or environmental rights.
The court added that the dispute over the brothers’ interests in the restaurant did not settle the separate question of whether construction had been carried out lawfully. The owner’s commercialisation NOC could not be treated as blanket approval for every structural change without examining its terms and the relevant building approvals.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has approved the Karachi Port to Qayyumabad corridor, a 16.5-kilometre, four-lane expressway to be developed through a public-private partnership.

The approval was granted at the 53rd meeting of the Public-Private Partnership Policy Board, chaired by the chief minister. The corridor will connect Shahrah-e-Bhutto Expressway to the East Wharf of Karachi Port, with controlled access along the route. The project will be delivered on a design, finance, construction, operation, maintenance and transfer basis. Its 27.5-year contract period will include 2.5 years for construction, followed by 25 years of operation and maintenance.

Officials also discussed a proposal to introduce an Infrastructure Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) in place of Class A equity in the project company. Matters concerning the Karachi Port Trust licence agreement and the issuance of a final no-objection certificate were also taken up. The board separately approved works to protect riverbanks along Shahrah-e-Bhutto Expressway. These include underwater protective embankments, an additional loop and ramp at Memon Goth Interchange No. 5, and the installation of street lights.