K-IV’s land acquisition in Gadap challenged

Petitioners say they were not paid compensation for 15 acres of project land

KARACHI: The much needed and long awaited project to provide the city with additional water, commonly known as the K-IV project, has hit a snag, as owners of 15 acres of land in Gadap Town, which has allegedly been acquired for the project without compensation, have challenged the project in the Sindh High Court (SHC).

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Munib Akhtar, has also issued notices to the provincial chief secretary, managing director of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) and director-general of the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) to file their comments by August 9.

The bench passed these directives on Thursday while hearing a petition challenging the acquisition of 15 acres of land for the project allegedly without payment of compensation to the land owners.



The judges ordered the government and K-IV project officials to act in accordance with the law till the next date of the hearing and before beginning work or stepping foot on the 15 acres of land in question they must provide a map with the project’s parameters to the petitioners. The petitioners will then be able to challenge the inclusion of their property in the project. The bench also directed the officials to explain to the petitioners that their property is not affected by the project.

A group of residents had approached the court, naming the provincial chief secretary, KWSB MD and FWO DG as respondents.

The petitioners, including Abdul Qadeer, said they are lawful owners of the 15 acres of land in Gadap Town locality of District Malir. The judges were told that the course of the K-IV project was changed and the provincial government had acquired 15 acres land from the petitioners in order to execute the development project.



The petitioners said the authorities had promised to pay compensation for the acquired land under the land acquisition law. They said the staff had carried out a survey of their lands and work had been initiated. However, they alleged that the respondents had not paid compensation to the residents so far.

Advocate Malik Altaf argued that the acquisition of the petitioners' land without paying them compensation is illegal and a violation of the land acquisition law. He apprehended that the government and project authorities might not pay the amount, thus they will deprive the petitioners of their right to get compensation in return for their land.

Therefore, the court was pleaded to declare the land acquisition without compensation illegal and a violation of the law. It was further pleaded to declare that the petitioners are entitled to compensation.

The lawyer pleaded to the judges to grant a stay against the work on the K-IV project on the petitioners' land as an interim arrangement to save their land.



After hearing initial arguments, the bench issued notices to the respondents to file their comments by August 9.

Karachi has been plagued with water issues for years and the recently, the problems have intensified, with constant water shortages in many areas of the metropolis. The K-IV project is a joint venture between the Sindh and federal governments.