KOHAT: The mushroom growth of illegal housing societies and looting of people by land mafi a has become a challenge for the district administration.

The members of mafi a usually buy land at normal rates and later declare it as a housing scheme by only plotting the land and sell it at exorbitant rates to the people. They are buying land with the help of patwaris (revenue offi cials) whereas the high offi cials are kept in the dark by the relevant offi cials.

Such illegal housing schemes have sprung up on the University Road, Jarma, Rawalpindi Road and Bannu Road, which are developing rapidly due to increase in population after the migration of internally displaced persons to Kohat from Kurram Agency, Darra Adamkhel, Orakzai Agency, Bajaur Agency and Khyber Agency.

The people serving in various government departments also invest in these illegal schemes for getting big profi ts after two to three years.

The land mafi a lures the people by publicising that their housing scheme has the electricity generator, security system, zoo, garden, shopping centres, road, water and gas facilities.

Hafi zabad housing scheme, Bangashabad and Mumtaz Town and a dozen more such schemes have been established without getting NOC from the district council or tehsil municipal administration.

Therefore, after a decade these schemes are without roads and paved streets, sewerage system, and proper water and gas facilities.

Besides, the provincial government has sold out Jarma land to its occupants after 30 years at Rs135,000 per acre. But the fake occupants, who obtained the land fraudulently, are developing housing schemes there without any government check.

The district council and tehsil administration should not give permission for the construction of housing schemes without NOC and proper map of the place to be sold to the buyers.

INFLATED POWER BILLS: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf district president has said that people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been sent infl ated electricity bills by Pesco to spread hatred against the PTI-led provincial government.

At a meeting, he asked Pesco rural, SDO, Badar Munir to correct the bills and stop unannounced loadshedding otherwise the people would launch a protest campaign against him. He said that people now knew where their taxes were going due the ongoing PTI protest in Islamabad.

Meanwhile, after three months of tussle the people of localities on Hangu Road have agreed to submit their corrected bills through the efforts of MPA Ziaullah Bangash.

Their bills were corrected on the spot by the Pesco staff.

Published in Dawn, September 29th , 2014