Daily Times

KARACHI: Anti-corruption Establishment (ACE), after completion of an inquiry into the lease of land reserved for Mahmoodabad Treatment Plant (TP-II) to private parties, has decided to seek the permission of Sindh Chief Secretary (CS) Mumtaz Ali Shah for lodging a first information report (FIR) against Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB), Sindh Building Control Authority’s (SBCA) Master Plan Department , Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Sindh Board of Revenue (BOR), former Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal, former city district nazim and Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Nasreen Jalil.

According to ACE officials, the aforementioned parties were involved in allotment, lease, possession disposal and development of land on government-issued funds. A total of 49.25 acres TP-II land was reportedly allocated to 1426 units of Preedy Street affectees and 50 acres of the reserved land was allotted to several parties through china-cutting.

As per sources, ACE interrogated former KWSB managing director (MD) Lala Fazal-ur-Rehman, former City District Government Karachi (CDGK) district coordination officer (DCO) Jawaid Hanif, Karachi Commissioner Sualeh Farooqui, former LAEP project director Dr Saif-ur-Rehman, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) municipal commissioner, former EDO official Atiq Baig, former Revenue-II EDO Mutanat Ali Khan, Camp office president, former revenue EDO Sajjad Abbasi, KDA official Amanullah Chachar and many others.

Sindh ACE deputy director Zameer Ahmed Abbasi said that ACE established that the involved officials were aware of facts and circumstances. He said that they were accused of allotting amenity plots to individuals and their statements needed to be recorded. “Several questions needed to be answered in order to determine facts,” he said. Notices, in this connection, were served to officials. ACE letter also highlighted Mustafa Kamal’s name for his alleged involvement in allotting Mehmoodabad TP-II land to 1,426 displaced families from Preedy Street Lines Area. “Besides, Kamal had been involved in china cutting of 40 acres of land in same area,” disclosed the letter. The letter further disclosed that KWSB employees were also involved in grabbing large portions of the land and building houses there.

KWSB officials disclosed, on the condition of anonymity, that Hammad Siddiqui and Waseem Aftab were also involved in this land scam. It was proposed that an area measuring 49.25 acres had to be handed over by KWSB for Resettlement project of affectees of Preedy Street Lines Area. The MPGO had also prepared a layout plan for rehabilitation and created three categories including R-120 sq yards, N-60 sq yards and LS-20 sq yards. Furthermore, the same policy decision of rehabilitation and proper approval of layout plan was approved by the then CDGK Council in February 2009.

TP-II was constructed in 1964 with treating capacity of 20 MGD, 49 acres of which were leased out by KWSB to City Government in year 2009. Almost 50 acres of its land was encroached upon by several parties. Zameer Abbasi said that no law had been considered while converting the status of amenity plots of TP-II for residential purpose. He said that infrastructure costing Rs760 million had been built in the area. “All of this was illegal,” he maintained. “The officials who were not involved in the matter were allowed to go on benefit of doubt,” he added.

Published in Daily Times, October 22^nd 2018.