October 26, 2007	Friday	Shawwal 13, 1428

KARACHI, Oct 25: A large amenity plot in Clifton’s Boat Basin, given by the city government to the Corps V of the Pakistan Army under the adopt-a-park scheme, is facing an uncertain future since the army has shelved development plans without informing the city government, fuelling fears that the mystery surrounding this prime piece of real estate is being engineered to pave the way for its conversion into a housing scheme.

Colonel Idrees of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) told Dawn that while Corps V had intended to establish a polo ground and a park at the seven-acre site, “these plans have now been shelved.”

However, the city government’s chief of parks, Liaquat Ali Khan, said that he was unsure why the army had not yet initiated the development work, revealing the city government’s ignorance of the change in plans.

Sources pointed out that if Corps V did not intend to establish the park, the land should immediately be returned to the city government so that the area remains a public amenity plot and is prevented from being misused for commercial or other purposes. The land, worth an estimated Rs10 billion on the open market, was reserved for a public entertainment area comprising a hippodrome, an open-air theatre and a park. Reliable sources informed Dawn that the city government had in fact begun work on its boundary wall when the Corps V offered to establish a polo ground and a park on the site. This was confirmed by parks’ chief Liaquat Ali Khan, who explained that the agreement took place during the city government’s caretaker set-up after the earlier city nazim, Niamatullah Khan, left office and before the current nazim, Mustafa Kamal, took charge.

Reportedly, members of a polo organisation had persuaded the army to develop the Boat Basin plot when the city government asked the players to stop using their earlier ground in Clifton’s Bagh Ibne Qasim, where they had played polo for the past few years. Subsequently, Corps V approached the city government and obtained permission in this regard.

Ownership dispute

The fears regarding the eventual fate of this plot are heightened by the fact that a portion of it is already under dispute. Sources told Dawn that the original plot measured about 14 acres, about half of which were carved out over a decade ago and given to the Civil Aviation Authority to construct a squash complex. The allotment agreement was cancelled when the CAA failed to construct within the stipulated period. However, this cancellation was challenged by the CAA and the dispute has been pending in the courts for many years, a fact confirmed by parks’ chief Liaquat Ali Khan.

Pointing out that work on the seven-acre park/polo ground had not been initiated despite the passage of over a year, sources said that the army may have been eyeing the other half of the plot which was under dispute. “The army was probably trying to resolve the issue between the CAA and the city government so that it could get control of the full 14 acres,” said sources, adding that a polo ground normally required around 12 to 13 acres of land. Now that the polo ground/park plan had been shelved, however, sources raised the question of why the land had not been returned to the city government and hoped that the “shelving” did not pave the way for a housing scheme.

‘Plot much sought after’

Dawn was informed that this chunk of land has over the years been much sought after by various parties. Some time ago, it was proposed that it be handed over to the United States so that the US Consulate General could be relocated from its current premises on Abdullah Haroon Road, where its security requirements have created increasing problems for commuters and citizens alike. However, this proposal was shelved when residents of the localities adjoining the Boat Basin plot staged protest demonstrations fearing that shifting the consulate would expose the area to terrorist threats.