KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Monday restrained the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation from converting the Nehr-i-Khayyam storm drain in Clifton into plots.

A division bench of the SHC comprising Justices Sajjad Ali Shah and Naimatullah Phulpoto issued the restraining order on a petition filed by Amina Jilani, a Clifton resident, against the KMC authorities for unlawfully converting the storm drain into plots to be used for commercial and residential purposes.

The petitioner submitted that the amenity land was earmarked for a storm drain in the master plan of the scheme.

She recalled that the city district government had carved out eight plots on the impugned land, but the KMC had to annul the move when certain aggrieved parties moved the court against this illegal practice.

The petitioner said unlawful construction was again under way on the storm drain that was filled with sand.

She asked the court to declare amenity land conversion for commercial purposes illegal. She also requested the court to direct the KMC to desist from the illegal practice.

The bench restrained the KMC from converting amenity space into plots till further orders and issued notice to the respondents — the KMC administrator, director general of the Sindh Building Control Authority, secretary of land utilisation department, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) chief and others.

The hearing was adjourned to a date to be later announced by the court office.

Removal of encroachments

The same bench, meanwhile, directed the chief secretary, managing director of the KWSB, KMC administrator and others to submit their respective comments on a petition against encroachments on storm drains across the city.

The petition was filed by Rana Faizul Hassan, a civil rights campaigner and secretary general of the United Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, who sought the court’s injunction to the respondent authorities to remove encroachments from storm drains.

The bench also issued a notice to the provincial law officer, directing him to ensure filing of the respondents’ replies within 10 days.

The petitioner told the judges that big and small storm drains, the major source of the draining out rainwater, were illegally occupied by land grabbers who raised concrete structures and buildings on them. He said encroachments on the drains led to a great deal of hardship and inconvenience to people, as rainwater accumulated on streets during the rains.

He said all major storm drains, including those linked to the Lyari River and the Malir River, had been encroached upon while many others were choked as the civic bodies did not clear the silt.

The petitioner submitted in the court that the provincial minister, Sharjeel Inam Memon, also conceded that 29 storm drains were encroached upon. He quoted the minister as saying that the authorities had decided to issue eviction notices to the encroachers first.

Later, he said the authorities also placed a notice in the newspapers, asking the encroachers to remove the illegal structures from the storm drains within a month.

However, the rights activist said, nothing had been done so far to remove the encroachments due to the lethargic attitude of the authorities concerned.

He said the fragile drainage system of the city had totally collapsed, as had been evident during the previous monsoon season.

The petitioner asked the court to direct the KWSB and the KMC to remove all encroachments from the drains.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2014