The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday issued orders to clear illegal structures built on government properties in Karachi, and directed the authorities to allot the freed-up land to the federal government employees, a private TV channel reported.
A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, heared a case pertaining to encroachments in the provincial metropolis, at the Supreme Court’s Karachi Registry. The attorney general, chief secretary, commissioner Karachi and other officials were present during the hearing.
During the hearing, the CJP reprimanded officials from the Defense Housing Authority (DHA) and the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) over their failure to stop the rise of encroachments in Karachi, directing them to demolish all illegally constructed buildings in Punjab Colony, Delhi Colony, PNT Colony and Gizri Road areas of the metropolis.
The chief justice admonished the CBC land director for ‘closing his eyes when ill-gotten money was being made’. He lamented that fortunes have been amassed and now the court is being told that the buildings are illegal. “If permission is granted for ground-plus-one buildings in cantonment areas, how is it that high-rise buildings have been built in these sectors? Buildings nine stories high are being built, and they must be razed to the ground,” the CJP told the counsel for CBC. “If an investigation is done [into encroachments], the whole of DHA will be found to be illegal. All leases will be dismissed, and hum bhi farig hojaein gey [we will be made to walk as well],” the CJP said. “But that does not matter, we have to live by the law,” he asserted.
Addressing the attorney general, the CJP again questioned who gave permission for constructing the buildings. “It’s not as if the cantonment board can go around doing as they please,” he said.
This prompted officials from the CBC to say that they have taken action against illegally-constructed buildings on several occasions. “We have given orders for razing unlawful constructions,” stated an official, adding that the laws allowed for constructing ground-plus-two buildings on residential plots and five-storey buildings on commercial plots.
“What world are you living in,” remarked the CJP. “Do you think we are unaware of the reality,” he questioned, before proceeding to grill the CBC land director. “How are such massive buildings next to Kausar Medico being given the green signal? You were trusted with government land. What exactly is going on [in the board],” the court remarked. “The district administration, the Sindh government and the federal government have all been unsuccessful. The situation in Karachi has now become dire,” he said, and remarked that katchi abadis in Lines Area should be removed and the residents transferred to multi-storey buildings. “They [katchi abadis] hang from Quaid-i-Azam’s mausoleum like a decorative piece of jewelry. A flyover should not have been constructed in the area,” he observed.
To this, the attorney general sought time from the court to figure out a solution in consultation with all the stakeholders. However, in his exchange with the attorney general, the CJP remarked that neither the city government nor the provincial or federal governments were doing anything. “No government is working so who should we invite?” said the CJP, adding that the problem is that the government officials do not want to work.
The court also directed the chief secretary to get rid of all the encroachments in the city and put in a request for the re-settlement of the residents of the katchi abadis and the affected people. He also directed the officials to invite the recommendations of experts through media.
The court also directed the authorities to build a park at Nehr-e-Khayyam, and banned commercial buildings near the site.
The case was later adjourned till February 21.