KDA vs SBCA vs KMC: Who Approves What in a KDA Scheme

Buying in a KDA scheme such as Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar or North Karachi means dealing with at least three public bodies whose names buyers often mix up. The Karachi Development Authority (KDA) holds the land record, the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) approves what is built on it, and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) runs the city services around it.

This split is not unique to KDA schemes. Karachi divides land, building and title between different regulators, so no single office can answer every question about one property, and our guide on how to verify property in Karachi maps every regulator and the order in which to check them. This guide zooms in on the three that matter most inside a KDA scheme.

Most disputes in KDA schemes start when a buyer asks the right question at the wrong office. A KDA lease does not prove a building is legal. An SBCA approval does not prove the seller owns the land. And KMC, despite being the city government, decides neither for most private plots.

This guide sets out exactly what each body controls in a KDA scheme, which one to approach for each document, where their roles overlap, and how to avoid the gaps between them.

The three bodies at a glance

KMC works under the Sindh Local Government Act 2013, which assigns its functions to the Metropolitan Corporation by schedule. KDA and SBCA are separate provincial bodies outside the elected city structure, which is why the mayor cannot simply order either of them to act.

Who approves what: question by question

KDA's role in its own schemes

KDA planned schemes such as Gulshan-e-Iqbal (Scheme 24), Gulistan-e-Jauhar (Scheme 36), Gulzar-e-Hijri (Scheme 33), Surjani Town (Scheme 41) and the North Karachi townships. In those schemes, KDA:

• issues allotments and records transfers before the lease;
• executes 99-year leases as lessor;
• records mutations after a registered sale, gift or inheritance;
• grants permission to mortgage;
• owns and protects amenity plots on the scheme layout.

KDA does not approve buildings, even inside its own schemes. A house or flat on a KDA plot needs SBCA's approval, not KDA's.

KDA's registered lease is the strongest land document a buyer can hold. In a 2017 judgment, the Sindh High Court held that once KDA had executed a registered 99-year lease, it could not cancel the lease by letter. Only a court could cancel a registered instrument.

SBCA's role in a KDA scheme

SBCA regulates every building in a KDA scheme. For a buyer, that means three SBCA documents matter:

1. The approved building plan, which fixes floors and units.
2. The NOC for sale and advertisement, which allows a builder to sell units off-plan.
3. The approved completion plan, without which section 18-G of the Sindh Building Control Ordinance bars registration of a new unit and new electricity, gas or water connections.

SBCA also enforces against illegal construction across KDA schemes. Of its 396 enforcement actions in Karachi between January and mid-April 2026, 136 were in District East and 133 in District Central, the districts that contain much of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar and North Karachi.

KMC's role: smaller than buyers think

KMC is the elected city government, led by the Mayor of Karachi. It maintains major roads, parks, markets and storm drains, and it owns and leases land of its own. In March 2026, the mayor said KMC was working on 1,058 development schemes.

For a typical plot or flat in a KDA scheme, KMC is not the approving authority. It matters to buyers in three situations:

KMC is also tightening its own land records. In August 2026, the mayor dismissed two land department officers over illegal allotments and mutations and ordered a review of KMC land records. Our report on KMC's plan to put Karachi land and property records online explains what public access to those records could change for buyers of KMC property.

Where the roles overlap

The three bodies overlap in a few places, and these are where buyers get caught.

Commercialisation. Converting a residential plot to commercial use starts with the authority that granted the plot. Under Sindh's 2002 rules on plot use, that is KDA for a KDA scheme plot. SBCA then approves the building for its new use. A shop on a plot still recorded as residential carries two risks: the land use can be challenged by KDA and the building by SBCA.

Amenity plots. KDA owns the amenity sites on its layouts, but SBCA approves anything built on them, and KMC may maintain the park next door. A building approved by SBCA on a converted amenity plot can still be lost if KDA recovers the land.

Encroachment. KDA runs recovery drives on its land, SBCA demolishes illegal buildings, and KMC removes encroachments from roads and markets. One illegal structure can attract action from all three.

Public assets. Both KDA and KMC are looking at their land as a source of money. In July 2026, KDA proposed developing about Rs90 billion of its land, including 28 acres near its officers' housing society on Stadium Road, through public-private partnerships. KMC has moved to commercialise prime properties of its own, as our report on KMC's plan to commercialise three prime properties describes. Buyers of units in such projects need the land authority's approval as well as SBCA's.

Exceptions inside KDA areas

What the numbers show: Milkiyat.com findings

Two districts carry two-thirds of SBCA's enforcement. District East (136) and Central (133) together account for 269 of 396 actions: 269 ÷ 396 × 100 = about 68%. Those are the districts where most KDA scheme flats and portions are bought.

KDA's proposed land deal equals about 14 years of its salary bill. KDA's salary bill is Rs530 million a month, or Rs6.36 billion a year. Rs90 billion ÷ Rs6.36 billion = about 14 years of salaries, which explains why the proposal has worried staff about public land being handed over.

KMC's development load is spread thin. 1,058 schemes in one city government. If even a quarter of them were road and drainage works in older KDA schemes, that would be about 265 projects competing for the same budget that keeps those schemes livable.

Checklist: which office for which document

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What is the difference between KDA and SBCA?

A. KDA holds the land record in its schemes: allotments, leases and transfers. SBCA approves the buildings on that land, including sale NOCs and completion plans.

Q2. Does KDA approve building plans in its own schemes?

A. No. Building plans in KDA schemes are approved by SBCA.

Q3. What does KMC approve for a plot in a KDA scheme?

A. Usually nothing. KMC matters only when the property is on KMC land, is a KMC market shop or is held on a KMC lease.

Q4. Who approves commercialisation of a KDA plot?

A. KDA, as the authority that granted the plot, decides the change of land use. SBCA then approves the building for its new use.

Q5. Which body records a sale after a KDA lease?

A. The sale deed is registered at the sub-registrar, and the transfer is then recorded as a mutation on KDA's file.

Q6. Can a KDA lease replace an SBCA approval?

A. No. A KDA lease proves the land right. A building on that land still needs SBCA's approved plan and, for a new unit, a completion plan.

Q7. Is Taiser Town under KDA?

A. No. Taiser Town is now administered by the Malir Development Authority, although KDA first planned it.

This guide is for general information. Roles, procedures and approvals change, and buyers should confirm every land, building and lease record directly with KDA, SBCA, KMC where relevant and a qualified lawyer before paying.

Sources

• Sindh High Court judgment, Suit No. 1376 of 1997, on cancellation of a registered KDA lease
• KDA land forms: allotment, transfer, mutation, lease and certified copies, Karachi Development Authority
• Sindh Building Control Authority, official website