Guide
Corruption Cases in SBCA: What the Inquiries Found
By Maham Imtiaz
Real Estate AnalystVerified author
9 min read
The Sindh Building Control Authority is supposed to stop illegal buildings before they rise. Inquiries, prosecutions and court orders over the past decade suggest that, too often, its officials let them rise instead. A former director general has faced a NAB reference over amenity plots and an anti-corruption case over Nasla Tower. Officials have been booked after building collapses that killed dozens. In January 2026, SBCA itself issued show-cause notices to nearly 200 of its own staff for allowing illegal construction. Yet convictions of officials remain rare.
For buyers, this is why an SBCA approval cannot be taken on trust. Our guide on how to verify property in Karachi explains that the building layer has to be checked document by document, because a stamp or a sealed file is only as reliable as the office that issued it.
This guide sets out the main corruption and negligence cases involving SBCA officials, what each inquiry or court found, how they ended, the patterns they reveal, and what buyers can do to protect themselves.
The main cases at a glance
| Case | Year | Allegation | Outcome reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| NAB reference, Nehr-e-Khayyam amenity plots | Authorised May 2019 | Former SBCA director general and 15 others allegedly allotted amenity plots to a private firm, causing a Rs3 billion loss | Before an accountability court; hearings adjourned in 2023 |
| Nasla Tower, ACE FIR | January 2022 | 21 suspects, including two former SBCA directors general, over extra land added to an SMCHS plot and its commercial conversion | Former SBCA officials acquitted in 2025 for lack of evidence, after the Supreme Court had already declared the building illegal |
| Gulbahar collapse | 2020 to 2024 | Seven storeys on a 74-square-yard plot collapsed, killing 27 | Five owners convicted; eight SBCA officials acquitted in October 2024 |
| Agra Taj Colony, Lyari | November 2024 | Ground plus six storeys built without an approved plan; SBCA compliance reports found false | Sindh High Court ordered disciplinary action against four officials |
| Hero Tower, Hyderabad, ACE FIR | October 2024 | SBCA officials allegedly approved and revised plans against rules and issued a sale NOC | 13 booked; two SBCA officials arrested |
| Lyari collapse | July 2025 | Building known to be deteriorating from 2022 to 2025 not declared unfit or evacuated; 27 died | Director general suspended; FIR against nine SBCA officials and the owner; eight arrested |
| SBCA vigilance report | January 2026 | Officers posted while illegal buildings rose in their districts | Show-cause notices to about 193 officers and staff across five districts |
Nasla Tower: illegal building, no conviction
| Stage | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2006-07 | An extra 264 square yards, meant for a service road, allegedly added to a 780-square-yard SMCHS plot |
| 2010 | Another 77 square yards allegedly added; commercial conversion sought for 1,121 square yards |
| Supreme Court | Building declared illegal and ordered demolished |
| January 2022 | ACE registers an FIR against 21 suspects, including SBCA's then directors general Manzoor Qadir Kaka and Ashkar Dawar, an MPGO official and SMCHS office-bearers |
| 2025 | Trial court acquits former SBCA officials for lack of evidence |
| July 2026 | Federal Constitutional Court recalls the Supreme Court's 2018 and 2019 orders, including the Nasla demolition order |
The case shows the gap between a building being illegal and anyone being held responsible for approving it.
Building collapses and official liability
| Collapse | Deaths | Officials | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gulbahar, March 2020 | 27 | Eight SBCA officials charged | All eight acquitted, October 2024; five owners convicted |
| Lyari, July 2025 | 27 | Nine SBCA officials named in FIR; eight arrested | Case reported pending |
Our report on what Karachi's building collapses show about the approval records traces how each building got past SBCA.
What the courts said about SBCA
Courts have not only heard cases against officials; they have also recorded failures in how SBCA itself reports and enforces.
| Year | Court finding |
|---|---|
| November 2024 | SBCA compliance reports in the Agra Taj Colony case were found false; officials barred from field postings until proceedings conclude |
| February 2024 | Sindh High Court blamed SBCA's management for illegal construction and noted utilities connecting illegal buildings, which misled buyers |
| 2023 | Sindh High Court directed utilities not to connect buildings without an approved completion plan |
The Sindh High Court's reasons in CP D-478 of 2024 rejected a plea to regularise older illegal buildings and criticised SBCA's management for letting them be built, holding that "persons who are purchasing units in such constructions are misled as to the legality".
The 2026 internal crackdown
In January 2026, SBCA issued show-cause notices to deputy directors, assistant directors, building inspectors, engineers and architects after a vigilance report found they had been posted in districts while illegal buildings went up.
| District | Notices reported |
|---|---|
| East | 116 |
| Central | 57 |
| South | 60 or more, including 12 deputy directors, 19 assistant directors and 29 building inspectors |
| Malir | 16 |
| West | 14 |
In District South alone, illegal construction was found at 38 locations, including Lyari, Saddar, Clifton and Civil Lines, with many buildings allegedly using fake site plans and occupied without completion certificates. SBCA admitted it had failed to curb the violations.
The patterns
| Pattern | Seen in |
|---|---|
| Extra land or floors approved beyond the title | Nasla Tower, Hero Tower |
| Plans revised after construction began | Hero Tower |
| Sale NOCs issued without conditions met | Hero Tower |
| Dangerous buildings not declared or evacuated | Lyari 2025 |
| False compliance reports to courts | Agra Taj Colony |
| Fake site plans | District South, 2026 |
| Long investigations, few convictions | Nasla, Gulbahar |
The Gul Plaza fire of January 2026 added another dimension: shops multiplied far beyond the approved number while the building stayed in use. Our report on how the Gul Plaza fire probe blamed the building's management covers its findings.
What reform has been proposed
| Proposal | Status |
|---|---|
| SBCA reform framework, February 2026 | Task force, drone surveys and online approvals announced |
| Town-level building control | 25 towns restored in October 2026 |
| Draft SBCA Act 2025 | Proposes an SBCA force, non-compoundable offences, up to five years' imprisonment and Rs5 million fines; not passed |
| Building rules under section 21 | High Court ordered rules framed in 2026 |
What buyers can do
- Verify every approval at SBCA, not from the builder's photocopy.
- Check the floors approved against the floors built.
- Check the sale NOC for a project sold off-plan.
- Check the dangerous buildings list for older buildings.
- Insist on a completion plan before registration or possession.
- Keep copies of every document in case approvals are later questioned.
- Complain in writing to SBCA and, if needed, to the Sindh Ombudsman or the courts.
What the numbers show: Milkiyat.com findings
Eight officials charged over Gulbahar, none convicted. 0 of 8 SBCA officials were convicted, against 5 owners.
The two deadliest collapses killed 54 people. Gulbahar (27) and Lyari 2025 (27): 54 deaths.
About one in seven SBCA staff received show-cause notices. SBCA has about 1,381 employees; on the reported total of 193 notices, 193 ÷ 1,381 = about 14%. The district figures reported add up to more, so the true share may be higher.
District East accounted for over half the notices outside South. 116 ÷ (116 + 57 + 16 + 14) = about 57% of the four-district total.
The Nasla plot grew by about 44% on paper. 780 square yards sub-leased against 1,121 square yards sought for commercial use: 341 ÷ 780 = about 43.7% more.
The NAB reference alleged a Rs3 billion loss. The amenity plot case alleged Rs3 billion, and has been before the accountability court since 2019.
Frequently asked questions
Q1. Have SBCA officials been convicted of corruption?
A. Convictions are rare. Former officials were acquitted in the Nasla Tower case in 2025, and eight officials were acquitted over the Gulbahar collapse in 2024.
Q2. What is the case against the former SBCA director general?
A. NAB authorised a reference in 2019 alleging the illegal allotment of amenity plots at Nehr-e-Khayyam, causing a Rs3 billion loss. He was also named in the Nasla Tower case, in which he was acquitted.
Q3. What happened after the 2025 Lyari collapse?
A. The SBCA director general was suspended, an FIR named nine SBCA officials and the owner, and eight officials were arrested.
Q4. What did SBCA's 2026 vigilance report find?
A. That officers were posted in their districts while illegal buildings went up; show-cause notices went to about 193 officers and staff.
Q5. Does an SBCA approval guarantee a building is legal?
A. No. Cases show approvals issued against the rules and buildings occupied without completion certificates. Verify every document directly with SBCA.
Q6. What reforms are proposed?
A. A reform framework with online approvals and drone surveys, town-level building control, and a draft SBCA Act with tougher penalties that had not been passed by October 2026.
Q7. Where can I complain about an SBCA official?
A. To SBCA itself, the Anti-Corruption Establishment, the Sindh Ombudsman or the courts, with copies of the documents involved.
This guide is for general information. Many matters described are allegations, and cases may still be pending or under appeal. Readers should check the current status of any case with the relevant court and confirm every approval directly with SBCA and a qualified lawyer.