KARACHI: Report on incomplete housing project sought
KARACHI, Jan 3: The City Council on Monday demanded that the concerned department of City District Government Karachi should submit a report with the council within a month about the details of incomplete housing projects
initiated some five years back.
This demand was made in a resolution, adopted unanimously by the council. The session was presided over by Ghulam Abbas Baloch. The allottees, the council members said, have not been given possession despite the fact that they have made full payments.
Siddique Rathore, who tabled the resolution, said: "Incomplete housing projects can be seen everywhere, particularly in North Karachi, Surjani and Scheme-33, for which all payments have been made by the allottees."
Innocent people, he said, have been hoodwinked on one pretext or the other, and now the builders' mafia is depriving them of their valuables through delaying tactics. The concerned government department is turning a blind eye to this situation and has given a free hand to such mafias, he said.
He demanded of the city government to take those builders to task who have not yet given possession to allottees despite a passage of five years. Besides, he called for devising a strategy for payment of certain amount to those allottees who made full payment, but they are waiting for a house, and are forced to live in a rented house.
The council session, which met mainly for discussing non-payment of arrears of honorarium witnessed an uproar for some time when several members rose to their seats at once and obstructed Hafiz Ahmed Ali, another member, from speaking when he was recounting the achievements of the city government.
The proceedings of the council could not be heard during this period due to noise. Noor Hassan Jokhio, a member from the Awam Dost Panel, said the members are protesting over non-payment of their arrears, but they are not serious towards legislation-making.
"The council has only passed two by-laws since its inception three-and-a-half years back out of total 42 areas in which it is supposed to do work," he said, adding, because of this approach, the towns and UCs are working without any guidelines.
Mr Jokhio deplored that no member raised a voice against increase in petroleum prices and incidents of mobile phone snatching. Siddique Rathore, speaking on the issue of arrears, deplored the double standards adopted for payment of arrears to the City Nazim, the City Naib Nazim and members of the City Council.
"The City Nazim and the Naib Nazim are being paid honorariums, right from inception of the new system, but a notification was issued later." He demanded that FIR be registered against those who violated the prescribed rules, and paid the amount.
The council, through another resolution, demanded immediate transfer of development funds worth Rs6.4 million, set aside in the current budget for each UC. Juman Darban criticized the city government for bulldozing a village on Superhighway.
The members also approved three separate resolutions, envisaging naming of the FTC Flyover and Old Numaish after Late Shah Ahmed Noorani, and the naming of road from Mashriq Centre to Busy Bee Restaurant in Gulshan town after Shah Ahmed Raza Khan Barailwi. Shamim Mumtaz Wasi, Ghulam Akbar, Sajjad Dara, Jaffarul Hassan and others also spoke. -PPI
