KARACHI: Encroachers in the city have apparently been given a free hand to grab the land of their choice to establish their illegal business set-ups, as the Sindh government’s drive against the encroachment mafia continues to lose its momentum. The land mafia have started grabbing useful land and about 3.5 acres of Karachi Development Authority (KDA) link road in the area of Shahnawaz Shar Goth, Scheme no 33, Gulshan Iqbal despite the fact that there illegal structures were demolished twice by the anti-encroachment cell, area residents told Daily Times on Friday. According to reports, it was revealed that a group of land grabbers are active in the jurisdiction of Shahnawaz Shar Goth and its adjoining areas in sector 24, Scheme no 33, Deh Songal. Sources said that the land grabbers have again started grabbing eight-acres of land allocated for useful purposes and a 150-feet wide road on one side while 100-feet on the other side, measuring approximately 3.5 acres. The area residents identified a land grabber, Mehboob Abbasi, who is considered as lead front-man of a retired bureaucrat, Shafqat Abbasi, to carryout illegal business of land grabbing in Shahnawaz Shar Goth and adjoining areas, sources said. During there land grabbing activities, two FIRs had been lodged but the main culprits remained active and were not held, sources added. The area residents informed that the land grabbers were active from a long time for a prime piece of land that was allocated for amenity purposes by Sindh governor. “Land grabbers have links with a group of influential political leaders as well as some connections in bureaucracy to carryout there malice business,” sources said. “The land grabbers want to trespass four-acres of land from a Government Girl’s Degree College in Shahnawaz Shar Goth in the past but tough resistance from the area residents kept the land grabbers away from its premises,” sources informed. They said that the land grabbers have launched ‘Shah Inayat Village’ on the same land but due to illegality of land, Sindh Land Utilisation Department had stopped the transaction in respect of the village on February 3, 2015. Another source revealed that the land grabbers with the help of some political influentials planned to grab 20-acres of land in the same jurisdiction including Government Degree Girl’s College in Shahnawaz Shar Goth and applied for regularisation under Gothabad Scheme. A PC-I was prepared for the construction of 150-feet wide road from New Karachi-University Link Road to Government Degree College Block-24-A, Scheme no 33, Gulshan Iqbal, for which an amount of Rs 24.79 million was estimated in April this year, the source added. The area residents further informed that recently construction started again adjacent to the wall of girls’ college and it remained unchecked, which could create security as well as privacy issues of the female students. The principal lodged a written complaint to deputy commissioner of District East in May this year, identifying activities of criminal elements around Girls’ College and safety of female students.