30 years on, allottees await promised land

KMC leased 2,300 plots for cottage industry cluster, but Sindh govt gave the land to Goth Abad Scheme

KARACHI:

A two-member bench of The Sindh High Court (SHC) headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar heard a petition of the victims of Landhi Cottage Industries cluster against the illegal possession of 2,300 plots allotted to them in 1993.

The bench in its hearing on Thursday ordered the Board of Revenue to give details of land records of the said 2,300 plots.

The petitioners’ counsel, Usman Farooq Advocate, stated that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) had allotted more than 2,300 plots for cottage industries in Landhi in 1993.

Since 1993, KMC failed to give possession of the said plots to its rightful owners. Allottees said that criminal elements forcibly occupied their land and setup cattle pens.

The Sindh Board of Revenue representative told the court that this land was never allotted for cottage industries.

The government counsel submitted that the KMC had allotted the same piece of land to multiple individuals and businesses leading to unending litigation.

Sindh government's lawyer stated that we have no record of any such scheme.

Usman Farooq Advocate stated that the applicants should be given the same land that was allotted, not an alternative. The petitioners are entitled to the land they have paid for. The Board of Revenue wrongly allotted the land under the Goth Abad Scheme. In the Talat Ejaz case of the Supreme Court, it has been decided that the Board of Revenue cannot cancel lease of the land once allotted.

The court remarked that if the Board of Revenue and KMC sit and resolve the issues, many problems and cases will be resolved.

The court sought the details of the land from the Board of Revenue within 15 days. The court directed the members of the Board of Revenue to inform the court in personal capacity about the land status. The court adjourned the hearing for three weeks while summoning the member Board of Revenue.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 22^nd, 2024.