KARACHI: Housing schemes for shelterless people urged
KARACHI, May 10: The Sindh Minister for Planning and Development, Syed Shoaib Ahmed Bukhari, and Advisor on Local Government, Waseem Akhtar, have urged the federal and provincial governments to announce housing schemes on land lying unused for shelterless people so that they may not feel the need for illegally occupying private and government land out of any exigency.
Speaking at a press conference, they castigated the PPP for raising hue and cry on removing of encroachments from the land of a private Al-Mashriq Cooperative Society on court orders.
They said initiation of such housing schemes would help provide shelter to a poor man on one hand and eliminate unemployment on the other.
Mr Bukhari and Waseem Akhtar said new vistas of economic and industrial promotion can also be opened if vacant lands are used for establishment of new industrial zones and this would also help get rid of “Qabza mafia”.
Criticising the PPP and some other nationalists and politico-religio parties for exploiting the issue of Sikandar Goth for political gains, they explained that it was during the government of PPP when 25 acres of land was allotted to the Society on July 5, 1973 and the then government recovered its price at Rs 7 per square yard.
The ministers said the sale agreement in respect of allotted land was concluded between the then governor Sindh and the Society on Oct 15, 1979, with signature by the then Deputy Commissioner East.
They said in June 1995, when once again the PPP was in government, the then Assistant City Surveyor handed the formal allotment to the society.
However, thereafter, Odh nomades occupied this land illegally, against which the Society approached the court and after prolong court process, the Sessions Judge Imdad Hussain Koso gave the verdict in favour of Al-Mashriq Society and City Government was given written order to dispossess the illegal occupants.
They said on court order, the City Government staff carried out an action and got the land vacated from unauthorised occupants under the supervision of court Nazir Mohammed Bux Mangi.
They said the City Government has no direct bearing in this matter. It neither carried out any planning nor is a party in this matter. It only provided technical assistance for implementation of court orders.
They said it is surprising that the PPP, during whose government, this land was allotted on price to
Al-Mashriq Society is raising hue and cry.
In fact, they alleged, it was PPP which created division among urban and rural people in its first government and now they are afraid of MQM's growing popularity in the interior of Sindh and is trying to create hatred between Sindhi and Urdu speaking Sindhis,
Side by side, another political party and so-called nationalists were also giving a political colour to a court order.
They said land mafia had become cancerous not only in Sindh and Karachi, but whole of country and it has become a business to occupy government and private land and then sell it out.
Their modus operandi is that they first occupy land illegally and then sell it out giving it name of Goth and when action is taken against this illegal occupation, an impression is given that Sindhi-speaking people are being dislodged and political colour is given to a legal matter and Sikandar Goth is one such example.
They said the City Government Karachi wants to develop old villages as modern model villages and since it took over, not a single brick of any old or legal goth or village has been removed.
In the next budget, they said, the CDGK is allocating millions of rupees for development of such goths and villages with provision of basic amenities for them . They said this amount would be spent through concerned towns and union councils. They said that the Haq parast leadership of Karachi is serving the people without any discrimination while so-called parties are patronising the land mafia and thus trying to impede the development of Karachi.—APP
