PHOTO COURTESY: USINDH.EDU.PK
In a place of learning for the young minds, a piece of land holds more value than a degree.
The University of Sindh (SU) employees housing society, located next to the campus in Jamshoro, is starting to lose its amenity and commercial plots to the so-called experts of 'china-cutting'.
Initially, the Sindh University Employees Cooperative Housing Society's (SUECHS) phase I and II had its own elected management committee but it was taken over in June 2013 by the Sindh Cooperative Housing Authority-appointed administrator, Barkat Ali Junejo.
"Junejo and his many goondas [thugs] forcefully occupied the office and took away the relevant records of the society," a member of the SUECHS management committee, Qadir Bux Bhalai, complained to the police in June, 2013. It later emerged that the Sindh Cooperative Housing Authority had appointed Junejo as an interim administrator until new elections could be held in the society. No elections have taken place in the last 26 months.
Layout redesigned
Junejo's takeover was followed by an immediate redesigning of the society's layout plan for both the phases, which spread over 100 acres each. By August 2013, the new layout was ready and auction of the plots was advertised in an Urdu and a Sindhi daily newspaper on August 29, 2013.
A total of 38 plots, spread over more than 30,000 square yards in phases I and II, were put up for auction. These included 16,367 square yards that were allegedly carved out from the amenities, mainly parks, according to some of the residents who complained to the district administration and later the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in January, 2014.
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"Both the society's phases consist of only three types of plots: the A-type measuring 600 square-yards, B-type measuring 400 square-yards and C-type measuring 200 square-yards," explained administrator Amjad Soomro, who has taken over ever since Junejo was removed. "The other types from EA to EF were introduced after the map was redesigned in 2013."
Soomro agrees with the residents' complaint. He told The Express Tribune that Junejo sliced 18 new plots of 600 square-yards each, one plot of 444 square-yards, five of 400 square-yards, six of 150 square-yards and one each of 1,070 square-yards and 1,153 square-yards allegedly from the amenity plots earmarked in the two phases. These are the plots that were later categorised in six groups from EA to EF.
Throwaway prices
A copy of one of the sale deeds, available with The Express Tribune, shows that a school plot of 2,533 square-yards was bought by Nazar Muhammad Junejo in September, 2013, at a price of Rs518,000. He later sold it for Rs875,000 to Rustam Ali in September, 2014.
Other commercial plots were also auctioned at throwaway prices. The starting bids for three 1,700 square-yard plots, two for shopping centres and one for a bank, was fixed at Rs500,000. They were sold off at cheap rates of Rs508,000, Rs515,000 and Rs518,000, respectively.
Similarly, another 600 square-yard plot, EA-4, was bought by Muhammad Khan Tagar at a price of Rs187,500 in the auction. He later bifurcated the plot and sold 200 square-yard plots to Shahida Chandio at Rs80,000 each.
"They plundered the society in two ways: sold off the commercial plots at very low rates and carved up new residential plots from the amenities," pointed out Rehmatullah Loond, a resident of SUECHS who took the case to NAB in early 2014. He claims at least 11 of the auctioned plots were bought by either relatives or friends of Junejo.
Loond and Soomro valued a 200 square yard plot in phase I at up to Rs3 million and in phase II at Rs1.8 million. According to Shah Bhitai real estate agency, which is based in the society, the price of a 600 square-yard corner commercial plot in phase I is around Rs21 million and in phase II, Rs18 million. The value of the residential plots of the same size in phase I goes up to Rs10 million and Rs8 million in phase I.
The NAB's team, drawn by Loond's complaint, visited the society's office a few months ago, took away the records and issued a caution letter against any future transactions.
Plea bargains
Subsequently, 19 of the buyers who acquired the plots through auction have submitted the plea bargains, NAB spokesperson Qudsia Kadri confirmed. "There are 31 plots and buyers involved," she said. "Nineteen of them have requested for the agreement of plea bargain under section 25 (b) of NAO-1999. The applications are in process."
In his application to NAB, Syed Babur Ali Shah wrote that the administrator has illegally leased out plot EA-19 in phase I. "I have submitted an application under section 25 (b) for surrendering the aforementioned plot [to society] to unburden my conscience," said the application, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune. Shah admitted that he acquired the plot through sub-lease by Junejo in violation of the legal procedures.
"Since NAB began investigation, many people who bought plots from Junejo have turned up for the plea bargain. The number is likely to increase," said Soomro, adding that all these buyers allegedly paid higher sums of money in bribes to Junejo besides the price of the plots. "He asked for Rs3 million for a 600 square-yard plot, which I bought for less than Rs200,000," said one of the buyers, who has also sought the bargain.
If the bargain is accepted, NAB will help the applicants retrieve the amount legally paid for the transaction but the money given in bribe is likely to be lost.
Despite his success in halting the sell-off, Loond, an agriculturist who hails from Dadu, is not completely happy. "The elected MNA and MPA [from Jamshoro], the former deputy commissioner and officials of the revenue department and SCHA are all beneficiaries of this scam," he complained. "Sadly, none of them have so far faced the wrath of the law. Not even Junejo."
NAB had summoned Junejo on June 30 for investigations and he was directed to bring the original and revised layout plans as well as the financial details.
But he has yet to appear before the investigating team. Junejo, a former clerk in the Sindh Excise and Taxation Department, has also served as administrator in other cooperative societies in Hyderabad district. He could not be reached for his comments.
Complaints against Junejo
Mukhtiarkar’s investigations - A Mukhtiarkar’s investigation report accused Junejo of leasing out amenity plots to friends and relatives. “The sub-registrar of Jamshoro being in league has also acted beyond his competence by ensuring the registration of lease of plots as sub-lease without formal clearance from the competent authorities,” the October 10, 2013, letter stated.
On January 27, 2014, the Mukhtiarkar wrote to the DC again and gave details of 20 allotted plots out of 38. “Inquiry in the subject matter reveals that ... Junejo leased out/allotted amenity plots of SUECHS ph I & II which stand already reserved for education, mosque, hospital, shopping centre and other purposes.”
Deputy commissioner - In his inquiry report, dated April 15, 2014, Jamshoro’s former deputy commissioner Suhail Adeeb Bachani wrote that he “feels there are sufficient grounds on which an early action can be taken and the situation warrants strict legal action into the matter”. The report said Junejo sold out 20 amenity plots and 18 commercial plots “such as children’s playground, dispensary, school, mosque, park and bank on throwaway rates to his close relatives and favourable persons”. The report also points out that Junejo revised the layout plan for both the phases.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2015.
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