Operation started against encroachments on amenity plots

Apex court has given a two-day ultimatum to KDA for recovering amenity plots in the city

KARACHI: In compliance with the Supreme Court (SC) orders, the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) started on Tuesday an operation against the misuse of amenity plots in the city.

The apex court had given a two-day-ultimatum to KDA on Monday to remove wedding halls and other encroachments illegally set up on all the amenity plots across the city.

Complying with the order, eight wedding halls and 10 residential and commercial structures in North Karachi and New Karachi areas were demolished by KDA. Similarly eight wedding halls and one furniture market were demolished in Gulistan-e-Jauhar.



The operation against the illegal occupation of amenity plots would also continue today, said KDA Director-General (DG) Sami Siddiqui while talking to The Express Tribune. "We will compile a report [to submit to the SC] as soon as our teams return," he said.

"The operation will continue against the encroachers until all the plots are cleared," said the KDA DG. He added that a task force will be formed to continuously monitor and protect the amenity plots from land mafia.

KDA State and Enforcement Director Raza Muhammad Qaimkhani, who is conducting the anti-encroachment operation, said it was impossible to clear all the encroachments within two days as directed by the apex court. "We have tried our best to remove the encroachments on the first day and this would continue until all the amenity plots are cleared as directed by the court," he said, adding that there were more than a hundred amenity plots reserved for green belts, parks, play grounds, hospitals and schools that had been illegally converted into marriage halls or residential or commercial infrastructure in the last 15 to 20 years.



Qaimkhani added that two teams had been deputed for two zones for the operation against the encroachers. The operation would be conducted on a rapid pace if the provincial government provided support to the KDA, he said.