From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: The Supreme Court has directed Thursday the federal government to raze at least 250 structures in the P&T Colony of Gizri Area.
In its verdict on the hearing yesterday over city’s encroachments the larger bench of Supreme Court Karachi registry noted that P&T Colony has more than 250 illegitimate multi-storey buildings and directed the government to bring them down.
The land in P&T Colony was extended to Cantonment Board Clifton for the purposes of maintenance and not for construction of high-rise and to be sold to private developers, the verdict said.
Federal government needs to furnish an explanation over illegal constructions in the cantonment board, the verdict reads, while directing Attorney General of Pakistan to present before the court to expand on the government’s account. The same verdict has shared the larger bench’s observations on the illegal private allotments and constructions of high-rises on the land designated for Naval purposes.
Constructions of high-rise structure on Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman will be taken into consideration, the verdict added, underscoring that such private construction on cantonment lands is contradictory to the Constitution.
Separately, the verdict laid instructions for Karachi’s commissioner as well, directing him to bring down all the constructions in the encroached lands around Kidney Hill Park and submit a report to the court within two weeks.
Demolish all the constructions of Royal Park Residency and having swept off the wreckage, develop a park on the land, the verdict further directed the government adding that another under-construction project by the same developers must be ceased by the government at earliest.
Moreover, the CBC has been ordered to plant mangroves across the waterbeds of Bath Island and KPT Society while ensuring water supply to residents of the cantonment.
Following SCP’s order KDA has launched an operation in Surjani Town here to recover encroached state land on the orders of the Supreme Court.
Surjani Site Office of the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) has demolished dozens of houses built on the encroached state land in Surjani Town Sector-6 and 10.
The land mafia was building houses over the state land, a KDA spokesperson said.
The authority has recovered state land from illegal possession, the spokesperson further stated.
Police contingents were deployed in the area for security as KDA personnel launched the anti-encroachment operation.
The women of the area protested against demolition of houses during the operation.
It is to be mentioned here that the Sindh High Court (SHC) on last Thursday also ordered the KDA to launch an anti-encroachment drive in Gulistan-e-Jauhar area of Karachi to vacate the land occupied through China cutting.
The judgement was passed on a plea submitted in SHC accusing the KDA of supporting the land mafia in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. The court directed the KDA to launch a massive drive to vacate the occupied land in the area.
On the occasion, the director KDA informed the court that outlaws use to attack the KDA party, whenever they start the drive.
To, this the SHC bench asked the Director General (DG) Rangers and DIG Police to provide support to the KDA staff during the drive.
