Tejori Heights sealed, construction halted

The building is being constructed on land claimed by railway department, allocated for KCR

Karachi commissioner Navid Ahmed Shaikh oversaw on Tuesday the sealing of Tejori Heights- an under construction building being erected on a piece of land claimed by the Pakistan Railways and allocated for the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) in Gulshan-e-Iqbal- bringing its construction to a halt.

The move came following a Supreme Court order issued earlier this week.

A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, has issued the order, directing the relevant authorities to restore the KCR completely. The bench had instructed that all encroachments and illegal occupations from the KCR land must be removed.

The counsel representing the railways department had informed the court that the KCR land near Gillani Station had been illegally occupied for the construction of Tejori Heights. He said the department had filed a report in that regard before the Sindh High Court's nazir.

However, the counsel for Tejori Heights had contended that his clients had filed an objection over the railway department's report.

"You have constructed the building on the KCR land. Where will the KCR station be built?" CJP Ahmed had asked, directing his comments towards the Tejori Heights' counsel. No construction will be tolerated on the KCR land, he had remarked.

The bench had directed the builder of Tejori Heights to stop its construction and the Karachi commissioner to take over the project.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2021.