HDA says offered plots to officers as per law

Authority acknowledges allotment under process in line with precedence of other housing authorities

HYDERABAD:

The Hyderabad Development Authority has acknowledged that the process of allotment of pricey plots to 29 officers of different government departments has been initiated, justifying that the law allowed such allotments.

 However, the HDA's Director Land Management Muhammad Rizwan Khan has denied that the allottment process has been completed against what the social media posts suggested.

 In a letter addressed to Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan's Deputy Convener Kunwar Naveed Jamil, who sought a clarification from the authority last month, Khan stated that the process was started after receiving applications from the said officers.

 The plots of 600, 400, 240 and 120 square yards, worth tens of millions of rupees, have been selected in the Gulshan-e-Quaid housing scheme in Kohsar town of Latifabad taluka in Hyderabad.

 "It was decided at the level of high-ups in the Land Utilization Department that 10% plots or housing units may have to be offered to the land owning departments including the LU," he said.

 "The offices of commissioner, deputy commissioner, assistant commissioner and mukhtiarkar [as well] who assist the authorities in identifying lands, measurement, demarcation, mutation of lands and encroachment issues at concessional rates through balloting.

" He cited similar precedents in Defence Housing Authority, Air Force Officers Housing Authority, Bahria Town and Malir Development Authority which granted plots to such officers on concessional rates.

 According to him, on the basis of the criteria the authority received applications from the officers of the local government, district administration, police and other departments.

 Interestingly, Khan did not mention the police department among the facilitating departments.

 However, the DIG and SSP Hyderabad are among the prospective allottees.

 The director lang management informed that on February 18 this year the HDA received a letter from a section officer of the Sindh LG department requesting for allotment of plots in Kohsar town.

 On April 6 another letter was received from the secretary of the LG minister in this regard.

 The additional deputy commissioner of Hyderabad also submitted a similar request to the HDA on March 29, he added.

 "That the above requests were examined in accordance with section 9(2)(iii) of HDA Act, 1976, which says dispose of any land or other property vested in it by sale, lease, exchange or otherwise.

" Khan further disclosed that the requests were entertained with submission of the provisional challans by those 29 officers.

 He apprised that on May 17 a note was moved to the LG minister, who is also chairman of HDA's governing body, to give post-facto approval for receipt of the applications along with provisional challans.

 The approval of the governing body is also still awaited.

 He contended that the facts which he has narrated should suffice to clarify that no allotment has been made as yet and that the request will be considered by the governing body as per the rules.

 The MQM-P's deputy convener could not be contacted for his version in reaction to the HDA's reply.

 "According to the media reports the map of three acres of Gulshane- Quaid has been revised to provide plots to 29 [government] officers," Jameel had written in his letter to the HDA.

 He had pointed out that some officials of the local government and Malir Development Authority, sections officers, Hyderabad's commissioner, deputy commissioner, DIG, SSP and former managing director of WASA are reportedly among the beneficiaries.

 "You are requested to inform that under which law attempts are being made to give expensive plots to the unconcerned officers," he asked.

 He referred to the Sindh Urban Land Act which has laid down the procedure of allotting plots.

 He also referred to a Supreme Court's judgment which has banned such allotments to the government officers.

 The HDA has failed to complete its flagship housing scheme in Kohsar town, Gulistan-e-Sarmast, which consists of more than 33,000 plots.

 The project was launched 13 years ago and its completion still seems years away.

 Around two years ago the HDA received challans for auction of thousands of plots in Sarmast and it reportedly collected over Rs1 billion through the challans.

 However, the balloting for that phase four of the project has not been done so far.

 The positions of director-general HDA and managing director of its subsidiary, the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), are currently vacant.

 The Sindh government posted Ghulam Murtaza Shaikh as the DG last but he is reportedly reluctant to assume the charge.

 The WASA is at present being headed by an acting MD.