Supreme Court cancels Royal Park Residency land, P&T Colony projects

KARACHI: The Supreme Court has declared that the Sindh government’s revenue department illegally sold two acres of land near the Alladin Park for the purpose of construction of residential-commercial multistoried building, observing that all documents pertaining to transfer of land, lease and allotment appeared to be fake and it must be cancelled.

The direction came on an interim order issued by the SC’s three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, in encroachment of amenity lands case. The court observed that the SC, while exercising jurisdiction under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution, has all the powers and jurisdiction to declare acts of public functionaries that were beyond the power and in utter violation of the law under which they were required to perform their duties to be unlawful and void ab initio and cancel the documents of transaction of lease, transfer or selling of property/land.

The court observed that several other allotments of land have been made in the N-class of 187 of Deh Okewari Taluka, Karachi East. According to the allotment letter, 15 acres were granted to M/s Ahmed Ali Construction Company, two acres each to Mubeen International, China Builders, Mustafa & Company, Combined Builders and one acre to Mrs. Sabra Begum.

The court directed the commissioner Karachi to submit a report regarding such allotments and the present status of the land as it has been found that such allotments also suffer from grave illegality not being based on genuine letter of allotment.

The court observed that the Government of Sindh could not have leased the land for 99 years for residential, commercial purposes in the stated manner as such condition of allotment was nowhere available in any provision of the law and any relaxation in this regard was also against the public policy.

The court also issued a notice to builder Akhlaq Memon of Comm-3 building situated at the Benazir Park in the Boat Basin area to appear before the court along with all records pertaining to the ownership of the land and approval of the building plan. The court observed that apparently the land was an amenity plot and part of the Benazir Park.

Regarding the allotment of Karachi Port Trust land for residential or commercial purposes, the court observed that nowhere in the KPT Act, the board of trustees of the KPT had been given the power or authority to lease out, transfer or sell the KPT property for residential purposes to its employees or its officers. The court declared that all leases, transfers or selling of property of KPT land to its officers and servants were illegal and cancelled such transactions. The court ordered that all such lands will immediately revert to the Port of Karachi and to be used strictly in accordance with the KPT Act.

The court observed that many multistoried buildings have been constructed in the P&T Colony on the land of federal government quarters and open amenity lands, which were totally unlawful and these buildings so constructed needed to be removed in order to restore the original status of the land.

The court directed the attorney general to remove all illegal constructions and no part of the P&T Colony shall be allowed to be encroached upon and unlawfully built. The court observed that whoever was dislocated from the P&T Colony, the federal government shall take steps to have them resettled at other places. The court observed that as the people themselves have made illegal constructions, it could not be advised to the federal government to pay premium on such illegalities committed by the builders and directed the Cantonment Board, Clifton, and the federal government to submit compliance report within six months.

The court also issued directions with regard preservation of Kidney Hill Park, Hill Park, Bagh-e-Ibne Qasim, Nahr-e-Khayam and beautification of Shahrae Quaideen and other amenity lands and directed the federal, provincial and local administration to submit compliance reports.