ON September 30, the Sindh High Court ruled that property transactions within the administrative limits of the respective districts are taxable as per the relevant law. The observation was made in reference to a petition that demanded certain relief in taxation claiming to be in a rural area.
It may be noted that the distinction between urban and rural land within a district has ceased to exist as per proviso of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance, 2002.
While the SHC judgment has removed several ambiguities, the situation pertaining to current trends in land market demands a response to several matters that adversely affect its performance. In the absence of a legally valid master plan and land information system, the process of land transactions is taking place in a haywire manner.
Land use, ownership profiles, occupancy details, application of legal / administrative codes, infrastructural provisions and plans, sale price indices, applicable restrictions (on certain types of land uses), priorities attached to land reserves and many similar related factors are largely unclear. An urban and regional land audit is the urgent need for the entire Karachi region.
Technically, audit is a mechanism devised for stocktaking of land parcels in any administrative jurisdiction. This is a process which is undertaken according to a stipulated frequency to ensure generation of useful information for planning and development exercises.
Civilized societies consider land as a collective asset for the appropriate utilization according to prescribed plans. When combined with other factors of production, land acts as a catalyst for sustainable enterprises. However, its nascent trading as a commodity retards the productive capacities in various sectors.
Few weeks ago, some industrialists in Karachi complained about the unavailability of suitably priced land for setting up any kind of industrial enterprise. Instead of facilitating industries, the government is busy developing industrial land parcels. This land becomes the high value trading commodity without generating positive outputs in term of value addition, employment or support to the various market demands.
Many research studies in respect of land management have identified the existence of multiple types of ownerships in the city. Freehold ownership is the type which is assumed by various land-owning agencies and land lords by virtue of rights transferred by the British.
Land was granted to the various agencies such as railways, port authorities, military establishments and government departments including municipal bodies. It was also granted to land lords for facilitating cultivation/productive utilization of peri-urban and surrounding rural terrains.
When Pakistan came into being, Karachi was surrounded by several rural settlements inhabited by local settlers. Leaseholds (and sub leasehold) ownership pattern is a specific format where conditional ownership is accorded to a lessee by the land-owning agency. The usual conditions that apply include time period of lease, land use and the nominal ground rent which is payable to the land owning agency.
Sub-lease is a similar agreement between the lessee and a third party. Buyer of plots, apartments, shops and similar other facilities are granted ownership rights in several schemes through sub-leasing agreements as per land use already specified in the lease.
Problems arise due to irregularities and institutional deficiencies in matters pertinent to land ownership and records and some of which have become constraints the city administrators find utmost difficult to grapple with.
Change of land use as stipulated in the lease document or the specifications of the urban master plan (if it exists), is the core issue that adversely affects urban management. Various land owning agencies were accorded ownership of large land parcels due to their emerging operational requirements. For example, during the early twentieth century, the British had kept land provision at Pipri for railways in anticipation of rising storage and marshalling yard activities.
However, under the present regime, a sizable part of that land is being converted into a high price land targeted for some private industries and little attention is being paid to protests by the railway authorities and concerned professionals. Similarly, the Karachi Building Control Authority has prepared an ambitious plan along the right of way of Karachi Northern Bypass for all kind of fancy uses.
No recourse to the existing status of ownership is made while attempting to open that precious land reserve. Absence of a notified and legally valid urban development plan has also affected the land management.
Despite countless representations to the government of Sindh by professionals and civil society organizations during the past two decades, a meaningful silence has prevailed on this issue. The reason is obvious. After notification, the discretionary powers and privileges of several authorities would be curtailed and no agency is willing to part with it. Thus the previous two master plans had to be put in cold storage.
A major hurdle in the application of rules and regulations related to land sales and development is the secrecy in the ownership records. Karachi has more than three dozen land-owning agencies. This accounts for more than three-fourth of the total land, but access to their records is next to impossible.
Clandestine plans for selling schemes, political manipulations for allotting to favourites, adjustments in dimensions and other parameters, behind-the-door dealings to evolve ambitious projects, concealing information regarding non-transparent transactions are some of the reasons in this respect.
Many chronic urban maladies crop up as a result. Encroachment on state land, illegal land transfers, spiralling speculation and inappropriate urban densities emerge as a consequence of this practice. Planning and implementation of crucial development projects are severely hampered due to skewed land transfer and management flaws.
Extension of Karachi Circular Railways, creation of transit terminals, widening of major city roads, development of new roads (especially the by-passes, urban re-vitalization of run-down central areas, development of an efficient solid waste system, construction of public parking lots and de-centralization of central business district are some of the important projects adversely affected due to improper land dealings.
It is high time that the solutions to this persisting problem are contemplated and implemented without delay. The foremost step should be the streamlining of land records. All land-owning and managing agencies be advised to publish land records under their ownership or control.
Reconciliation of disputed land records and ownership status must be done between the concerned agencies. Wherever necessary, the assistance of judiciary may be sought.
A land information system (LIS) be developed as the central database and necessary attributes related to land parcels be entered into it. More accurate predictions be made about the future space requirement of government agencies, private sector enterprises and collective / individual user groups.
After establishing the densification bench marks of the various city zones, the future allocation of land may be worked out.
Ecologically-sensitive areas be analyzed carefully to maintain their sanctity. Mangrove forests, coastlines, orchards, river basins, park lands, water bodies and several similar assets be outlined for conservation and preservation.
Right-of-ways for vital modes of public, freight and other modes of transportation be protected from intervention of real estate forces.
Needless to say, the prudent land utilization will be the beginning Of an appropriate urban planning for the city.
ON September 30, the Sindh High Court ruled that property transactions within the administrative limits of the respective districts are taxable as per the relevant law. The observation was made in reference to a petition that demanded certain relief in taxation claiming to be in a rural area.
