KARACHI — The Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) has launched a large-scale operation to demolish old and dangerously dilapidated buildings across Karachi, in an effort to prevent potential tragedies and ensure public safety, officials said on Thursday.
According to an official press release, the campaign follows directives from Sindh’s Minister for Local Government, Nasir Hussain Shah, and is being supervised by SBCA Director General Muzamil Hussain Halepoto. The authority has already initiated demolition work in Lyari’s Noabad and Agra Taj areas, where several high-risk structures are being carefully dismantled by specialized teams.
“This campaign marks a decisive step toward protecting lives and reducing the risk of sudden building collapses in Karachi,” said Halepoto. “Our top priority is to make sure no citizen loses their life because of unsafe structures.”
The SBCA recently completed a province-wide survey identifying hundreds of unstable buildings. In Karachi alone, 540 structures have been declared dangerous 59 of which are categorized as “extremely hazardous.” The authority confirmed that all buildings marked for demolition have already been vacated and the process is being carried out in phases, with full support from the district administration and local police.
Officials emphasized that the campaign also includes strict enforcement against illegal and unauthorized constructions under a “zero-tolerance” policy. “We’re not just demolishing unsafe structures we’re also holding those accountable who built them illegally,” an SBCA spokesperson said.
Earlier this year, a provincial committee on unsafe buildings reported that around 300 families had been relocated from 56 “extremely dangerous” buildings in Karachi and were provided temporary rental assistance of Rs30,000 per month for three months.
In July, then–Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani announced a comprehensive re-survey of all 740 buildings declared dangerous across Sindh including 588 in Karachi in collaboration with both government and private institutions. Of the 61 “extremely hazardous” structures in Karachi, 56 have already been re-inspected and vacated, while five others four in Garden and one in Saddar remain under judicial review and are expected to be cleared soon.
Authorities said the demolition drive represents a long-overdue effort to address Karachi’s decaying infrastructure and prevent further loss of life in the city’s densely populated neighborhoods.
