How to Respond to a Balochistan Housing and Town Planning Authority Demolition or Removal Order

If the Balochistan Housing and Town Planning Authority sends you a written order to remove, demolish or alter a building, or to stop using land, the Act gives you a chance to be heard before it can demolish, and you can be made to pay the cost if you ignore the order. Fines run up to Rs 50,000 and up to six months in jail for a first offence.

The Balochistan Housing and Town Planning Authority Act, 2020 (Act II of 2020) was assented to on 10 September 2020. We read its full text on the Balochistan Code, the provincial law portal, on 21 October 2026. This guide explains the order, the penalties and what to do. It is not legal advice.

The Authority can order a building removed, altered or its use stopped

Section 31 says that if a building, structure, work or land is erected, built or used against the Act, a rule, a regulation or an order, a person authorised by the Authority may order in writing the owner, occupier or user to remove, demolish or alter it, or to use it in a way that complies.

If you do not comply in the time the order gives, the authorised person may, after giving you an opportunity of being heard, remove or alter the building or stop the use of the land. He may use necessary force and recover the cost from the person responsible.

You get a hearing before the Authority demolishes

The hearing is written into section 31(2). So the first thing to do with an order is to read the time it gives and answer inside that time. A reply that arrives after demolition starts helps nobody.

Section 30 covers a different case: unauthorised occupation of land or property vested in the Authority. The Director General or an authorised officer may evict the occupant, again only after giving the person affected a chance to be heard.

Penalties run up to Rs 50,000, Rs 1,000 a day and a year in jail

Under section 23, a contravention can bring up to six months in jail or a fine up to Rs 50,000, or both. Continuing in breach of an Authority order adds up to Rs 1,000 for each day. A repeat offence can bring up to one year or a fine up to Rs 100,000, or both.

Section 28 deals with conversion of property to a use other than the scheme's, without the Authority's prior written approval. That is punishable by a fine up to Rs 1,000 a day from the date of conversion, or up to one year in jail, or both.

The offences are bailable. The police cannot act on their own: they take cognizance only on information from an officer authorised by the Authority (section 23(4)). The Authority may also compound an offence, meaning settle it, before the court case ends (section 24).

Reply in writing and bring your approvals

Your best defence is paperwork. Bring the building plan approval, the allotment or sale papers, and proof of the land use. If the plot sits in an approved scheme, the revenue entry should match. Check yours with the steps to check land records in Balochistan.

If you cannot show an approval, ask in writing for time to apply for regularisation. The Act does not set out a regularisation process, so ask the Authority what it accepts. Do not pull down a wall or sell the plot in a panic. A hurried sale of a plot under an order only moves the problem to the buyer, and the cost can still be recovered from the person responsible.

1. Read the written order and note the date, the officer and the time given.
2. Collect the plan approval, ownership papers and proof of use.
3. Write a reply to the officer within the time given and ask for a hearing date.
4. Attend the hearing with the papers and a copy of your reply.
5. Ask for any decision in writing.
6. If you must alter the building, do it as the order says and keep photographs.

Courts are limited, so a lawyer should read sections 27 and 34

Section 34 says that, except as the Act provides, no court or other authority may question the legality of anything done under the Act by the Authority. Yet section 27 says citizens keep their right to bring a suit against the Authority for violating rights they have under any law. These two sections pull in different directions, and we do not know how the courts read them.

The Act also lets an affected citizen file a written complaint to the Authority, and if no action follows, bring a complaint to a court (section 25). If you want a freeze on a threatened act, ask a lawyer whether the injunction route in the guide to stopping a property sale with an Order 39 injunction is available against the Authority. For a general complaint about the provincial government's service, see the Balochistan CM complaint portal.

Common questions

Can the Authority demolish my building without notice?

Not under section 31. It must first order you in writing and then give you an opportunity of being heard before it demolishes.

Who pays for the demolition?

The person responsible for the building or use. The Authority may recover the cost from you, and sums due are recoverable as arrears of land revenue under section 29.

What is the maximum fine?

Up to Rs 50,000 for a first offence, up to Rs 100,000 for a repeat offence, and up to Rs 1,000 a day for continuing breach of an order.

Can I be arrested on the spot?

The offences are bailable, and the police take cognizance only on information from an officer authorised by the Authority.

Can I settle the case with the Authority?

Section 24 allows the Authority or an authorised officer to compound an offence before the court case ends. Ask what terms it accepts.

Does the Act cover the whole province?

Section 1 says it extends to the whole of Balochistan. The Act also defines a controlled area, an area the government declares by notification, and we could not find any such notification.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

We read the full text of the Balochistan Housing and Town Planning Authority Act, 2020 on the Balochistan Code on 21 October 2026. We did not read its rules or regulations, any notification of controlled areas, or any court ruling on sections 27 and 34. This is general information, not legal advice.