May 17, 2008	Saturday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 11, 1429

KARACHI, May 16: A comprehensive policy is being formulated to check the mushroom growth of illegal katchi abadis.

This was stated by Sindh Minister for Katchi Abadis Rafique Engineer while talking to a group of journalists here on Friday. He said the policy would envisage provision of low-cost houses which would help discourage the trend.

He said that during a briefing about his department’s working, he had noted some discrepancies with regard to the process of regularisation of katchi abadis.

Referring to the 1985 survey, he said there were 1,200 katchi abadis in Sindh, 72 of them in Karachi, in addition to old villages (Goths).

He said some complicated issues had disrupted the process of leasing of certain katchi abadis. These issues pertained to the claims of ownership of the lands involved. While the KPT and Railways submitted some claims, the revenue record showed the land as “state land”, he explained. Until the issues were sorted out and settled, the lease process could not be resumed, he added.

The minister observed that the “land mafia” operating in certain parts of the city in the post-1985 period had created many slums by occupying the state land or private properties and this had resulted in mushroom growth of such settlements now being claimed as “katchi abadis”.

He categorically stated that only those settlements would be regularised which fulfilled the criteria of katchi abadis as laid down in the prescribed policy.

At the same time, he added, the low-cost housing scheme was being worked out for the low-income group.

The scheme would be launched in all big towns, including Karachi and Hyderabad, he added.