Katchi Abadi department executed lease of 200 plots on park land in FB Area, SHC told

The Sindh Katchi Abadi department executed lease of about 200 plots on the land for a park and playground in Federal B Area Block 5, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) told Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday.

Filing comments on a petition against encroachments on amenity plot ST-5/1 in FB Area before the SHC, a counsel for the KMC submitted that the matter pertained to the Karachi Development Authority and Sindh Katchi Abadi department.

The petitioners, Yousuf Jamal and others, had submitted in the petition that the amenity plot was reserved for park and playground but due to active connivance of the KMC and KDA, unscrupulous persons had raised a hutment there.

They submitted that the encroachers included persons involved in robberies and dacoities who had been creating nuisance in the nearby area. They requested the high court to direct the authorities concerned to remove the encroachment from the amenity plot and restore the status of the park.

The Nazir of the court also filed a report mentioning that the entire land was fully occupied and spread with approximately 200 katcha and pakka houses having built with masonry blocks without plasters and some of them were found well-furnished consisting of ground-plus-one floor where families were residing.

The Nazir submitted that electricity meters were found installed on outer walls of houses and shops. It was also submitted that 40 to 50 shops were found running different businesses. The KDA director land management submitted a list of parks and playgrounds situated in Scheme 16 Federal B Area wherein the subject park/playground was mentioned on the serial number 30.

He undertook to file a legible copy of the list of park and playgrounds in Scheme 16. He submitted that the possession of the land of the subject park was handed over to a KMC executive engineer on December 29, 1970.

The KMC’s counsel, however, submitted that the subject plot was reserved for park and playground as per the layout plan of the KDA. He submitted that the matter pertained to the KDA and provincial Katchi Abadi department.

A division bench of the high court headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi after perusal of the record of the case observed that the directorate Katchi Abadi and District Municipal Corporation Central were necessary parties for effective disposal of the petition and so they may be impleaded as respondents in the petition.

The SHC court directed the petitioners’ counsel to implead the Katchi Abadi and DMC Central as respondents in the petition and issued notices to them to file their comments on the matter. The bench also directed the KDA to file details of all parks and playgrounds in Scheme 16 of FB Area on the next hearing.