Sindh govt to pay over Rs5m to displaced persons

KARACHI: The meeting of Provincial Coordination and Implementation Committee was informed that as many as 6,932 people living along Gujjar Nullah, Orangi Nullah, and Mehmood Abad Nullah were displaced in the different anti-encroachment operations to allow rain water to flow through them with ease and prevent the city from flooding. The meeting also decided to pay over Rs five million to those displaced as compensation.

The Provincial Coordination and Implementation Committee headed by the Chief Minister Sindh was formed to steer the affairs related to the special development package for Karachi announced by the previous PTI federal government.

The meeting was informed that the encroachments had to be removed to ease the flow of rain water through these drains into the sea, that otherwise flood the major arteries of Karachi creating a near disaster scenario for the biggest megapolis. Besides, Chief Minister Sindh and Corps Commander, Commissioner Karachi and other senior officials attended the meeting that took certain decisions.

In the minutes of the meeting issued on Saturday, the forum was informed that five million rupees would be paid to people displaced from ‘those area’. Commissioner Karachi Muhammad Iqbal Memon told the meeting that Rs.5.13million have been released by the Sindh government which will be released to the project implementation unit for onward payment to the displaced persons.

It also came to fore that in different anti-encroachment operations, 6,932 people were made homeless who will now be paid house rent. Of these displace people, 200 people have died and their house rent will be given to their legal heirs.

The Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) of deceased have been blocked and their cases are pending with the relevant deputy commissioners. The committee is also considered paying the affected people online until the identity cards of the heirs of the deceased are generated. During the anti-encroachment actions, 238 houses were demolished in Mehmood Abad Nullah; 4,258 houses in Gujjar Nullah and 1,725 Orangi Town Nullah.

It was decided that Frontier Works Organization (FWO) and National Logistic Cell (NLC) would complete Gujjar Nullah, wall of Orangi Town Nullah and Kofar Dam by May 2023. Another part of the project is the construction of new bridge in Liaquatabad to allow unhindered water flow from Gujjar Nullah during monsoon for which a survey and study would be conducted by the NED University.

Overall the Gujjar Nullah and Orangi Nullah projects will be completed by October 2023. The Provincial Disaster Managing Authority was directed to prepare revised PC-One of both the Gujjar Nullah and Orangi Nullah for their timely completion.

The manner of displacement of thousands of people from these traditional rain water drains had drawn strongly criticism by the United Nations (UN) human rights activists. They had asked the Government of Pakistan to stop the demolitions of the encroachments till arrangements for their relocations and proper compensation were made.

The United Nations human rights was of the view that the anti-encroachment actions were undertaken without consultation with the affected residents and without any relocation plan inflicting great hardship to those displaced.