SC asked to stop re-allotment of land in Sindh

ISLAMABAD: A corruption watchdog, the Transparency International Pakistan, sought a ban from the Supreme Court on Wednesday on re-allotment of land whose allotment had been cancelled by the Sindh government after clandestine deals had been exposed in the court.

The organisation is following a number of cases regarding allotment of 871 acres along Malir River, 300 acres along Clifton Beach, 300 acres in Nooriabad and 5,222 acres in Thatta.

It filed a fresh application, asking the court to bar the authorities concerned of the Sindh government from re-allotting the same 40,000 acres of land.

Also read: Sindh govt allotted 44,000 acres of land to Bahria Town: Rangers

The allotments highlighted through the court cases had been cancelled by joint teams of the National Accountability Bureau and the Sindh Board of Revenue.

According to the application, a summary approved by Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah has incorporated a provision for increasing the existing 30-year lease of land granted for poultry, agriculture or cattle farming to 99 years. It alleged that the cancellation of illegal allotment of the vast areas was being stopped under political pressure and billions of rupees were involved in the scam.

It pointed out the recent case of the Moon Garden project in Karachi which had been built illegally on railway’s land in 1997, affecting over 200 families. “This is a typical case of encroachment by the land mafia and, therefore, requires urgent attention of the Supreme Court” which should lay down a “mechanism or guidelines for the builders and the leasing authorities” to ensure that the land’s status was legal before the approval and sale of housing projects.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2015