KMC admits allowing markets over drains

Constructions on drains paralyse life in the city during rains 

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has admitted during a lawsuit hearing at the Sindh High Court (SHC) that markets were allowed to be built on drains and leased to individuals as per the 1954 policy.

The revelation was made with documentary evidence in the demolition case of a market in Saddar’s Preedy area.

The corporation, in 2016, razed the market after a part of it collapsed in a blast caused by the accumulation of gases in a drain upon which the market was constructed.

The small portion, which once housed a famous dry-cleaning shop, fell to the ground at a time when the rest of the shops were closed. The building had developed cracks on which the KMC demolished the structure, declaring it dangerous for occupancy.

The market, spread over an area of 609 square yards, was leased to Asif Majeed and Imtiaz Ahmed following their successful bid of Rs 94,500 per square yard at an auction in 2004. The auction orders were given by the SHC as per its judgment on a lawsuit, by the then City District Government in Karachi.

Following the demolition, Asif, Imtiaz and other shopkeepers filed a suit at the SHC claiming Rs500 million in damages and provision of the same or alternate plot of the same size in Saddar along with construction cost. They claimed that they are the owners of the commercial plot which was granted a 99-year lease of the land and the building which was registered by the KMC and the Katchi Abadies in their names back in 2004.

According to them, the property was handed over after paying for the lease deed after which they invested a huge sum in its alterations.

While hearing the lawsuit, the shopkeepers gave up their earlier claim of Rs 500 million damages and pleaded with the court to decree the suit in their favour, directing the KMC to reconstruct the market at the same plot and hand it over to those holding leases and subleases.

A commissioner appointed by the court endorsed the leases and subleases of the litigators and submitted a report confirming that all the alterations in the original building were carried out after the approval from Sindh Buildings Control Authority.

In March 2020, Justice Arshad Hussain decreed the lawsuit in favour of the shopkeepers. Reacting against the judgment, the KMC filed an intra-court appeal seeking to annul the decree awarded to lease and sublease holders. A two-member bench, after several hearings, directed the KMC to propose an alternate land to the leaseholders.

On November 2, the KMC made proposals and submitted two site plans for alternate commercial plots measuring 300 and 320 square yards at Sector-13 of Balida Town in addition to a public building plot measuring 8,166 square yards to compensate the leaseholders. The counsel of the shopkeepers sought time from the court to consider the proposal and file their reply.

Around 4,000 shops and offices are constructed over various nallahs and portions across the city that chokes its drainage system and paralyse life during rains. They include the Victoria Road Nallah, Frere Road Nallah, Al-Yousuf Chamber Nallah, Preedy Quarters Nalah, Odeon Cinema Nallah, New Urdu Bazar Nallah and the Shaheen Complex Nallah.