HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA) is violating terms and conditions of payment of price fixed by the land utilisation department for state land allotted for public housing scheme, Gulistan-i-Sarmast, according to an official letter.

The letter was written by Hyderabad Deputy Commissioner Fayyaz Ahmed Jatoi a few days back in response to HDA Director General Noor Mohammad Leghari’s request for confirmation of title of land of 5,000 acres to HDA.

He explained in the letter that Sindh government had handed over 5,000 acres to HDA in Deh Ganjo Takkar through a letter dated Jan 7, 1981 and again on Jan 7, 1982, for Gulistan-i-Sarmast.

He said that cost of 200 acres was decided at Rs6 per square yard by the Board of Revenue (BoR) for low-cost housing scheme Kohsar Extension. Its payment was made and the land title was mutated record of rights by BoR. Then cost of 2,000 acres was fixed at Rs100 per sq yd on Sept 7, 2009 to be paid in installments.

But, he said, the HDA paid 50 per cent of the cost amounting to Rs484 million for 1,000 acres (out of 2000 acres). Of them, 500 acres had been mutated in HDA’s record of rights, he said.

The DG of HDA said in his letter that on April 10, 2014, the local bodies department moved a summary to the chief minister for mutation of 2,800 acres for HDA at Rs100 per sq yd on deferred payment basis.

Later, he said, the land utilisation department instructed the DC on May 9, 2014, informing him that the chief minister had issued permission to ‘process the case’ and requested the DC to confirm title of 5,000 acres and also intimate BoR about it.

The DC replied that only 700 acres had been mutated in favour of HDA on Jan 14, 1993, and Oct 10, 2009, while another 500 acres out of 1000 (of which cost is paid) was to be entered in record.

“HDA has violated terms and conditions of payment of price of land prescribed by the land utilisation department and also criteria for payment of price fixed by the chief minister on July 1, 2009. Price of 1000 acres is still outstanding against HDA,” read the DC’s letter sent to DG HDA on Aug 18.

The letter does not make any mention of 2,800 acres where HDA plans to launch a mega housing project through private sector. It invited expressions of interest and selected a private party without going through necessary formalities.

The DC referred to Feb 25, 2015, order of the Sindh High Court about disposal of state land for a housing scheme that asked the land utilisation department to undo all illegal allotments of state land.

The HDA launched Gulistan-i-Sarmast housing scheme on 2,000 acres during the tenure of then district nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil in 2009. It remains incomplete to date.

Moreover, other schemes like Kohsar Extension, HDA Employees Housing Society phase-II and Gulshan-i-Quaid too were without basic amenities. But in spite of this, the authority planned to launch another mega housing project on 2,800 acres whose cost had not yet been decided.

There are reports that HDA wants to join hands with Bahria Foundation for a joint venture.

The deputy commissioner told Dawn over phone that since cost of 2,800 acres had not yet been decided by facilitation committee it could not be mutated. “HDA is launching the scheme on its own on state land. We, being custodian of state land, are going to become intervener in the matter before Sindh High Court Karachi where a petition is filed by some allottees of phase-I of Gulistan-i-Sarmast,” he said.

Two former DGs of HDA, Ghulam Mohammad Qaimkhani and Iqbal Memon face inquiries by theNational Accountability Bureau in a massive land scam. Qaimkhani was arrested and recently released from prison while Memon has got an interim pre-arrest bail. Administrator HDA Employees Society Asif Memon also faced a NAB inquiry.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

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