New report reveals discrepancies in KU land case

While report submitted to varsity syndicate mentions 1,279 acres, lands records office states 1,350 acres

Matters pertaining to questionable occupancy of several acres of public university land have taken a turn for the complicated, as new information reveals further details and deviations.

Out of the total 1,300 acres of the University of Karachi’s (KU) land, over three acres have reportedly either been taken over by various public and private entities or are subject to legal proceedings, with over 15 different cases pending in this regard.

As detailed in a report allegedly submitted by KU state officer Noorain Shariq for the syndicate meeting to be held today (Saturday), some 3.405 acres of this unresolved land is located on University Road while the remainder lies near the university’s Maskan Gate.

The report further reveals that out of the three and a half acres of disputed land, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Nabil Ahmed Gabol has also emerged as a claimant of some 26,000 yards. In addition, the last case filed pertaining to the disputed land, in 2019, was also in reference to Gabol’s claims.

However, no reports of unauthorised occupancy of land have been filed so far during the tenure of the present administration.

Moreover, it is worth mentioning that the details submitted by Shariq to the university syndicate were also contained in a 2014 report by former state officer Naeem-ur-Rehman. The same information is being repackaged and submitted in 2020, while no new study has been conducted with regard to the details of the university’s land in the last six years.

According to the 2014 report, KU has over 19 acres of land on University Road but interestingly, information from the lands records office suggests that the university only owns 7.2 acres of land in the area.

However, the present state officer, using the dated report, has also submitted land measurements stating over 19 acres to the syndicate.

In addition to that, the state department reveals that KU was provided a total of 1,279 acres of land in 1954. Then, at the time of establishment of NED University in 1964, there was an exchange of land with NED and Dalmia Group, after which, in light of new documents, the total land for KU was said to be increased to about 1350 acres.

However, it appears that the present officers and employees of the state office are unaware of this fact and thus more than 70 acres of Karachi University land is being discounted in the report being submitted to the syndicate

On the other hand, when contacted for her comments on the anomaly, Shariq categorically denied any claims of reports from her office being forwarded to officials with the intent of being included in the syndicate. “I was informed that the report, which may have been sent by the legal department, was accompanied by a cover letter of the registrar and mentioned the state office. However, it was not sent by me or my office and hence I cannot answer,” she asserted.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2020.