Daily Times

KARACHI: Land mafia has illegally occupied the eight major parks worth billions of rupees across the city, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) documents have revealed.

As documents show that Hill Park, Aziz Bhatti Park, Jheel Park, City Park are among the parks which have been illegally occupied by the mafia over recent years.

In a report presented to the Supreme Court’s Karachi registry last month, the KDA had disclosed that thousands of square yards of 35,000 amenity plots in the metropolis had been taken over through ‘china cutting. The KDA had claimed in its report that illegal constructions in 27 different areas had been bulldozed by the authority within two days. It was also revealed that KDA land worth over Rs1 trillion was illegally occupied. According to sources, land grabbers had sold KDA land in Surjani Town, Korangi, North Karachi, North Nazimabad, Gulshan Town and Nazimabad.

According to a report, so many areas of Karachi city have been allotted by KDA in which include 42 houses and 6 hotels and in Hill Park two Masjids, theatre and swimming pool were illegally allotted. At least 12,000 residential and commercial plots were illegally sold for peanuts after they were cut into 80 to 1,000 yard plots.

According to document in PECHS society, 7 illegal plots were alotted, In Aziz Bhatti Park, one custom club for ceremonies was made that was illegal in addition , National Park in Pak colony has been occupied by land mafia, BulkPark in of old cliffton was also occupied by land mafia.

Meanwhile, the Sindh High Court has dismissed bail pleas of over 15 suspects including Karachi Development Authority (KDA) officers nominated in cases relating to allotment of illegal land and china cutting (illegal carving).

NAB Karachi has taken into custody 14 accused persons, consequent upon cancellation of their interim bails in High Court of Sindh at Karachi.

The accused persons wanted in a Reference filed against them in Accountability Court on the charges of China cutting of 23 amenity plots located at Gulistan e Johar Karachi and converting them illegally in 296 residential plots, causing loss to the national exchequer to the sum of above Rs 1.5 billion. All the arrested accused persons were officials of KDA working in different capacities.

More than 400 acres of KDA land is said to be occupied across the city. KDA officials say most of the land was occupied in the past 10 years. Following the orders, KDA has launched a full-fledged operation to retrieve illegally occupied land.

Published in Daily Times, December 22^nd 2017.