Nehar-e-Khayam: KMC to be held responsible for construction on stormwater drain, says court

Petitioner says the KDA Scheme No. 5's master plan earmarks plot as 'amenity'.



KARACHI:


The Sindh High Court (SHC) warned on Tuesday that contempt proceedings may be initiated against the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) authorities if it allows any kind of construction work on a storm water drain, Nehar-e-Khayam.


Even if the construction work includes filling, digging and excavating, KMC will be held responsible, said SHC chief justice Maqbool Baqar, who headed the bench. He made this warning while hearing a petition against the illegal conversion of amenity land into plots.

A resident, Amina Jilani, had taken the KMC administrator, Sindh Building Control Authority director-general, the land utilisation department's secretary, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) chief executive and others to court for allowing illegal land conversion.

The petitioner said she purchased a plot in KDA Scheme No. 5 only because of presence of an amenity land there, which has clearly been earmarked for a storm drain in the scheme's master plan. Jilani recalled that, back in 1990, the then city district government had intended to generate revenue by selling this amenity space in violation of the relevant laws.

The officials had carved out eight plots along with two corner plots from the drain's land. Later, the KMC had to cancel such illegal conversions after some aggrieved parties challenged it in the court, she added. Her lawyer, Abdur Rahman, informed the judges that unlawful construction is once again being carried out on the drain's land, which is being filled with sand.

At the last hearing, the two judges had barred the KMC authorities from converting the amenity space into plots until further orders. Meanwhile, an inspection of the site was also ordered.

During Tuesday's hearing, the petitioner's lawyer said that despite court's restraining order, the construction work was underway at the site. Rahman said this fact was also confirmed by the report of the court official, who was appointed to carry out physical inspection of the drain.

The two judges warned that, in case any kind of construction work including filling, digging or excavation, is carried out, the authorities will be held responsible and they may face contempt proceedings. The hearing was adjourned till October 21.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2014.

COMMENTS (1)

Napier Mole | 9 years ago | Reply

Kudos to Amina Jilani for raising the cross.

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