SHC orders action against encroachments
A file photo of the Sindh High Court building.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the DIG West to stop encroachment on German School Orangi Town and sought the master plan and comprehensive report from Karachi Metropolitan Municipality (KMC) at the next hearing.
A two-member bench headed by Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi heard the plea of Shakeel Ahmed and others regarding encroachment on the land of German School, Orangi Town.
KMC officials informed the court that the concerned officer is not keeping well due to the heatstroke, as a result the layout plan could not be submitted.
The court directed to submit a detailed report along with the master plan at the next hearing.
The court remarked that allocating the land measuring thousands square yards for the school meant that special planning would have been done for the school.
Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi remarked that details of school trustees, trust deed and school planning should also be provided.
Is it that the trust is not active and the whole neighbourhood wants to occupy the land? Usman Farooq, counsel for the petitioner, stated that the management of Indus Hospital has submitted a proposal to KMC for a big hospital on this land.
If this proposal is approved, it would be a great blessing for the poor people of Orangi Town.
The court while giving the task to DIG West to halt encroachment on school land adjourned the hearing until after summer vacations.
Establishment of goth
The Sindh High Court has sought a report from SHO Surjani and others within six weeks on a petition against the establishment of Rustam Goth on leased land in Surjani Town.
Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi while giving remarks during the hearing of the petition said that the land mafia seems to have become a big planner in this city as it freely occupies land while regulatory bodies and authorities concerned do nothing.
A two-member bench headed by Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi heard the petition.
The court lambasted the Anti-Encroachment Cell and others saying that it was the responsibility of the government to provide protection to the lease holders. If the land has been illegally occupied, then it is the responsibility of the government to retrieve it and give it back to the real allottees.
How are goths being set up on someone's leased land? The court questioned in its remarks, adding that when authorities take no action, the land mafia continues to indulge in their illegal activity of land grabbing.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2022.