KARACHI: A report by Karachi Development Authority (KDA) presented to Supreme Court’s (SC) Karachi bench revealed on Wednesday that 35,000 amenity plots in the city have been encroached through china cutting (illegal carving).
Subsequently, the court ordered KDA, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, and deputy commissioners to immediately vacate the encroached plots while directing the development authority to cancel allotments of welfare plots immediately.
During the hearing, the bench was irked by the absence of KDA director general. In response, the director’s counsel informed the court that his client was on bed rest. The court responded that his health would be immediately restored if arrest warrants against him were issued.
The report also revealed that illegal construction in as many as 27 different areas had been halted by KDA in the past two days.
During the hearing, Justice Gulzar Ahmed also summoned details of welfare plots as per their original plan.
The court also observed that no action against encroachment has been taken in the city since General Ayub Khan’s tenure.
Moreover, during Wednesday’s court hearing it was highlighted that as many as 12000 KDA plots worth over Rs1 trillion have been illegally occupied.
As per reports, encroached KDA land in Surjani Town, Korangi, North Karachi, North Nazimabad, Gulshan Town and Nazimabad had been sold off by dividing them into 80 to 1,000-yard plots. These plots comprised of both residential and commercial plots which were sold off at much lower than their market value.
KDA officials informed that more than 400 acres of KDA land is reported to have been occupied by land grabbers across the city. Most of this land is said to have been occupied within the past decade.
KDA DG Saeed Siddiqui while talking to local media outlet has informed that a meeting of department heads has been summoned on Thursday. Moreover, it was informed that all records pertaining to encroached land have been summoned in the meeting so that efforts can be made to reclaim this land following examination of records.
