18 July 2004	Sunday	29 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

KARACHI, July 17: Gulzar-i-Hijri, properly known as Scheme-33, will be handed over to the City District Government Karachi and a summary for transfer of ownership of this housing scheme will be submitted to the Sindh chief minister.

This decision was taken at a meeting, presided over by Sindh governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, at the Governor's House on Saturday.

The participants, including cooperative housing societies, agreed that the single ownership will facilitate faster internal and external development work in the scheme which was pending for more than 33 years.

It was decided that the EDO revenue of the CDGK would be appointed as "project director" under the city government.

The meeting also took a decision to form a committee, headed by DCO for revising external development charges. The other members of the committee will be EDOs of Water Board, Works and Services, Finance and Planning, representatives of civic agencies and executive officers of Cantonment Board and the project director will act as the secretary.

The participants agreed that the proceeds from either differential cost or fresh allotment after auction of corridor scheme land would go to the CDGK which would undertake internal and external development work.

A similar decision was taken regarding the land of green-belt allotted to builders and individuals. It was decided that a summary would be moved to Sindh chief minister.

It was decided that a steering committee be constituted under the Sindh chief secretary to monitor the progress and review the same on a monthly basis.

The meeting decided to remove encroachments with the help of special forces from the land of Scheme-33.

Earlier, additional chief secretary local governments Saleem Khan in his briefing about revival of the scheme said that it was initially notified in 1967 as a KDA Scheme-33 and the BOR issued a notification, elaborating the allotment policy, cost of land and other terms and conditions in 1971.

The planning and development work was assigned to the KDA and land was allotted to 137 cooperative housing societies from 1973 onward.

The BOR had allotted 4,707 acres of land to 137 societies out of an initial total area of 26,026 acres, of which 1,400 acres was earmarked as corridor area while 4889 acres as a green-belt.

Citing reasons for disputes, Saleem Khan said that dual control of BOR and KDA, coupled with the non-execution of development work as a normal KDA scheme, hindered the development pace in the scheme and caused an inordinate delay.

Similarly lack of funds, allotment of corridor scheme area by the BOR, growth of clusters of encroachments, non-payment of outer development charges by the allottees, escalation of cost and allotment of green-belt area were other reasons, he added.

He said that major roads of 200, 150 and 100 square feet, networks of water mains, submains, sewerage mains, storm-water drain and cut water open channel and bridges and culverts on Lyari River are to be constructed in the scheme.

Saleem Khan said that some of the road network, sewerage work, water supply system and storm drainage system has been completed.

The meeting was attended by the minister for planning and development Shoaib Bokhari, advisor to chief minister on local government Syed Waseem Akhtar, advisor on information Salahuddin Haider, additional chief secretary local governments Saleem Khan, City Nazim Naimatullah Khan, representatives of cantonment boards, Board of Revenue, KWSB, KESC and office-bearers of the Federation of Cooperative Societies of Scheme-33.-APP