Top court gives one month to revive Karachi Circular Railway

Takes exception to operation of KIDCL, terms it a reincarnation of East-India Company

KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) gave the Pakistan Railways a month’s time to revive the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) and the local train service. The direction came on Monday when a two-member bench, headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, took up the case relating to the revival of the circular railway at the SC’s Karachi Registry.

During the proceedings, Justice Ahmed took exception to the non-compliance of its earlier orders issued in November last year and directed the Pakistan Railways secretary Farrukh Habib to clear the track of encroachments within a fortnight.

Expressing dissatisfaction with the Pakistan Railways for not having cleared the encroachment despite clear orders, the top court ordered the officials to seek help from the Karachi mayor and other authorities in this regard, adding that they may even enlist the help of the armed forces and Rangers personnel if they faced resistance.

The Railways secretary informed the bench that they had cleared 10 acres of land, which would soon be transferred to the provincial government.

Meanwhile, the bench directed the Centre, provincial government and the city administration to make provisions for alternative land to be allotted to those displaced by the anti-encroachment drive.

The contention

Perhaps the biggest hurdle in the revival of the KCR was the displacement of settlements along its track. According to a 2013 survey report of the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), 4,653 families would have had to be evicted for the revival of the KCR.

This figure is likely to be much higher now. The city administration has been reluctant to demolish the houses since the Sindh government has not prepared a resettlement plan for these residents. The city administration is fearful of public retaliation if residential encroachments are demolished.



In February 2017, on the instructions of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, an anti-encroachment operation was carried out on KCR land near Aladdin and Safari parks which failed due to violent protests by the residents. Anti-encroachment operations in other areas too were only partially successful and were eventually abandoned due to political pressure. Since the SC’s November order for the revival of the KCR, the Pakistan Railways, aided by law enforcement authorities and the city administration, made several attempts to evict the residents. Each time, however, they received push-back in the absence of an alternative settlement plan.

The KCR track stretches along 43.2 kilometres, which includes the main line of Pakistan Railway and KCR track with 24 stations.

Green Line BRTS

The SC bench also took up the issue of the Green Line BRTS project and expressed its annoyance over the formation of the Karachi Infrastructure Development Company Limited (KIDCL) to execute projects under the Karachi package.

Justice Ahmed questioned the necessity of forming a federal company to develop Karachi’s infrastructure, while it should have been the responsibility of the local government. “If you want to operate this way, why don’t you shut down the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation?” asked Justice Ahmed. The judge also asked the KIDCL CEO whether he took an NOC from the local government to initiate this project. “How did you enter the city and start work without proper permission?” he asked the KIDCL representatives, adding that would they allow this to happen in Lahore and Islamabad.

During the hearing, the KIDCL representative informed the court that the width of the road had not been reduced for the segregated lane of the Green Line buses. At this, Justice Ahmed again questioned whether the city administration had been taken on board.

At one point, the KIDCL chief said that the project was initiated with the approval of the prime minister, to which Justice Ahmed remarked that even the prime minister is supposed to follow the law. “This is like the East India Company is operating here,” remarked Justice Ahmed, adding that it seemed this was all an attempt to embezzle Rs25 billion.

Tram service

During the proceedings, Justice Ahmed directed the provincial government to look into the possibility of reviving the tram service in the city. He suggested that Pakistani engineers, working abroad, may be consulted to revive the service. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2019.