The Supreme Court (SC) observed on Wednesday that the big conspiracy had hatched up against the people of Karachi and the city has been destroyed systematically.
Hearing applications concerning the province’s lack of computerization of revenue records and encroachments on public parks in Karachi, the Supreme Court’s three-member bench, led by Justice Gulzar Ahmed, directed the Board of Revenue to retrieve all encroached government lands across the province and restore the lands to their original position within three months.
A senior member of the Board of Revenue was questioned by the court on the matter of non-availability of the computerized records of the revenue. He replied that all the land except for the Thatta district has been computerized.
The court directed the member to provide a detailed report along with an affidavit within three months period with no extension.
It was observed that a huge number of disputed lands were pending. The court also observed the revenue board had become the most corrupt department.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court was surprised at the non-verification of thousands of acres in Karachi and other parts of Sindh. The court questioned a member of the Board of Revenue about why a survey of Karachi, Jamshoro, and Kirthar had not been undertaken.
There is no master plan placed by KDA and KMC before the court.
Several illegal high rise buildings were built in Malir and the revenue department had not taken any action against it. The Supreme Court ordered the revenue department to seize all the government lands from encroachments and demolish all the illegal construction.
The Board of Revenue has submitted the computerized records, but there is still a disparity between computerized and manual records.
Additional Advocate General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in a report said that the first phase of record computerization has been completed. The second phase will be completed by June 2022.
The court ordered that the high-rise skyscraper Nasla Tower at Shahrah-e-Faisal be demolished. The court found that 341 square yards were illegally handed to the builder by reducing the width of the service road and that the builder’s counsel failed to offer further lease rights.
The Supreme Court ordered KMC to demolish unauthorized parks and register cases against the officials involved.
The court observed 80pc that KMC employees were not performing as they should.
The court found that over 36,000 amenity areas in the city had been encroached upon. The court ruled that the chief minister does not have the authority to distribute amenity plots for commercial use. It ordered the DG KDA to restore all such appearance plots.
The court ordered the commissioner Karachi and KMC to complete demolition work at Aladin Parks businesses and Pavilion End Club. The court also ruled that the lease of Aladin Park not be auctioned off for the purpose of building an amusement park. On the K-IV project, the chairman of WAPDA stated that the workable design has been finalised.
The court directed commissioner Larkana and DC Jacobabad to ensure that public properties are used only for specific purposes. The court also allowed the AGP’s request to present a plan for relocating affected residents of the Gujjar and Orangi Town drains.
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