Auditor general flags irregularities in Sindh Building Control Authority

The Auditor General of Pakistan has flagged financial and administrative irregularities in the Sindh Building Control Authority for the financial year 2024-25, including high-rise construction permits issued without mandatory sales no-objection certificates and payments to consultants made without the required approvals.

The audit report, carried by ARY News, found that the authority did not prepare or finalise its annual financial statements and described its financial management and internal controls as weak.

Building plan approvals have slowed. According to the report, the time needed to clear a plan through the authority's Single Window Facility is now more than four times what it was in 2019.

The audit found that construction permits were issued for several high-rise projects without the NOCs required for the sale and advertisement of residential and commercial units. It warned that this raised the risk of legal disputes and fraudulent sales to the public.

Plans and permits were also approved for builders and developers who held no licence from the authority and were not members of the Association of Builders and Developers, in violation of the rules. The audit recommended disciplinary action against the officials who cleared those projects.

On spending, the report said private legal advisers were hired without the mandatory approval of the Sindh Law Department, and that Rs37.4 million was spent on legal consultancy fees. A further Rs52.2 million was paid to a consultancy firm for information technology services, and the audit questioned the transparency of the engagement and the payments.

The report raised irregularities over mortgaged plots that builders pledge to the authority as security. It said some developers offered those plots to the public for booking instead of holding them until their projects were completed and occupancy certificates issued.

The audit also found shortcomings in the demolition of unauthorised and dangerous buildings, including failures to obtain mandatory technical and regulatory reports and the engagement of contractors without specialised machinery or technical expertise.

The authority did not produce key financial and building-control records sought for the audit. The report recommended an investigation into the non-production of records, identification of the officials responsible and departmental action, and called for responsibility to be fixed for the irregularities it found.

The News International reported that the Association of Builders and Developers has called for reforms in the Sindh building authority.