Master Plan Authority introduces new formula for infrastructure fees as residential plot commercialisation resumes
The Sindh Master Plan Authority has lifted a seven-year ban on the conversion of residential plots for commercial use following recent court decisions, while a new formula for distributing infrastructure fees collected on changes in land use has also come into effect.
In light of recent decisions of the Supreme Court and the Federal Constitutional Court, the Authority has withdrawn the notification imposing the ban on conversion of residential plots for commercial purposes across the province, including Karachi and Hyderabad, since 2019.
“The notification issued by the Sindh Building Control Authority in pursuance of the Order dated 22.01.2019, regarding the immediate ban on conversion (change of land use), is hereby withdrawn with immediate effect,” said the notification.
Read: SC places ban on conversion of residential, amenity plots
The process of changing land use, which had remained suspended for seven years, has consequently been restored with immediate effect.
According to the notification, the Court’s decisions of 2018 and 2019, as well as the Sindh Building Control Authority’s restraining notification, have been declared void and withdrawn. All relevant institutions have been directed to implement the court orders in letter and spirit.
Officials clarified that withdrawal of the ban did not mean that every residential plot would automatically become commercial, adding that any change in land use would still require compliance with relevant laws, zoning rules and the master plan, as well as a formal no-objection certificate and approval from the competent authority.
Senior Director of the Sindh Master Plan Authority Shakeel Siddiqui said commercialisation would be allowed on Beach Avenue Road, Khayaban-e-Saadi, Khayaban-e-Rumi, Nishtar Road/Dhoraji Road, Alamgir Road, Shahrah-e-Noor Jehan, Stadium Road, Shahrah-e-Usman, Tipu Sultan Road, Shahrah-e-Humayun, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Tariq Road, Rashid Minhas Road, University Road, Shahrah-e-Pakistan, Nazimabad A Road, North Nazimabad 300-foot Road, Shahrah-e-Jahangir, Khayaban-e-Iqbal, Khayaban-e-Jami, Khalid bin Walid Road, Jamaluddin Afghani Road, Allama Iqbal Road, Sir Syed Ahmed Road, Shaheed-e-Millat Road and Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman Road.
The court has also made it clear that amenity plots, including parks, hospitals, schools, mosques, playgrounds and graveyards, cannot be used for commercial or residential purposes under any circumstances.
Also Read: KDA flouts top court ban on land commercialisation
The ban on commercial use of residential land in Karachi had left several projects of builders and the business community pending for several years.
New fee-sharing formula
Alongside lifting of the ban, a new formula for distributing infrastructure fees collected for changes in land use has also been introduced and a notification issued.
Siddiqui told Express Tribune that the Local Government and Housing, Town Planning Department had prepared the new formula for distributing infrastructure fees collected by the Sindh Master Plan Authority among various local government bodies and authorities.
Under the notification, all previous orders and notifications regarding the distribution of the fees have been cancelled.
According to the formula, districts and divisions across the province have essentially been divided into three categories for the collection and distribution of the fees.
In Karachi division and Hyderabad district, 45 per cent of the infrastructure fee collected for a change in land use will go to the relevant Town Municipal Corporations, 25pc to the Sindh Master Plan Authority, 20pc to the Water and Sewerage Corporation and 10pc to the metropolitan or municipal corporation.
A separate mechanism has been devised for urban and rural areas of the other divisional headquarters — Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkur and Larkana.
Within the jurisdiction of a municipal corporation, the fee will be distributed according to the same pattern as in Karachi and Hyderabad: 45pc to Town Municipal Corporations, 25pc to the Sindh Master Plan Authority, 20pc to the Water and Sewerage Corporation and 10pc to the relevant municipal corporation.
In areas where there is no corporation jurisdiction, 75pc of the total fee will go to the relevant municipal committee, town committee or district council, while the remaining 25pc will be transferred to the Master Plan Authority.
Chairman of the Association of Builders and Developers (Abad) Hassan Bakshi welcomed the decision, saying the real estate sector had breathed a sigh of relief.
“I welcome this decision,” he said, adding that allowing commercialisation indiscriminately without proper planning and improvements in infrastructure could further affect Karachi’s traffic, water, sewerage and other civic services.
He said commercialisation had been suspended in Karachi at a time when it was allowed across the rest of the country.
“Commercialisation on the 26 declared roads will create employment opportunities and increase options for ordinary buyers,” he added.
