Issue needs restraint

One million Karachi residents are set to be displaced in the areas of Korangi, Keamari, North Karachi, Sohrab Goth, and several others as a result of ‘China-cutting’. The matter is confounded by the fact that residents and owners took possession of the plots with tacit government approval under various political party leaders’ names. Now, however, the Supreme Court has deemed them illegal. Therefore, one of the major issues here is the depravity of officials in misleading owners and allowing them to acquire the plots. The second problem is the concern about where one million Karachi residents will go as the city becomes more congested and laws relating to land acts remain outdated.

Eminent domain may be applicable here. The amenity plots were given to owners who purchased them for a subsidised price. If they have ownership rights, the government must provide, at the very least, some compensation. However, this should only be in addition to providing alternative housing and should be viewed more as a compensation for hardship. If there is forceful acquisition of private property by the government, which will most likely end up being the case considering where the power lies, this will be a case of eminent domain. Unfortunately, many of the homeowners might be illiterate and paperwork, which generally helps in such cases, might never have been employed to begin with. As usual, it is the downtrodden and illiterate that are most affected by government actions. The government that provided them with amenity plots is now being ordered to take away the same.

There must be some provision for residents whereby they are acknowledged as the rightful owners rather than being demoralised. The officials who engaged in this undertaking are culpable for allowing initial ownership without having the authority to do so. Evicting impoverished residents without any strategic planning would be regressive; this is not a call for socialist reform but sudden eviction would be contradictory to the notion of progress. Although illegal land possessions need to be done away with, it must be ensured that the right persons are penalised.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2017.

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