DOZENS of flashy real-estate schemes are mushrooming across the country. Perhaps these lucrative ventures are the single dominant economic enterprise where almost all stakeholders are prospering.

Meanwhile, our superior judiciary, research institutions, watchdogs and whistleblowing bodies keep reminding us all is not well in this sector. For example, the Supreme Court (SC) recently questioned whether the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) — a statutory body that functions under the military — is subject to government oversight.

Many major cities now have DHAs; private real-estate barons market schemes that promise an earthly paradise. As the range of profits in land sales and real-estate development are exponential, unscrupulous attempts to capture land for commercial sales abound. In most cases, the collective benefit of public land reserves is accrued to a select few among the powerful.

In February, 2015, the SC intervened to stop the sale of some 20,800 acres of land in Hyderabad related to a dubious township on a petition by Transparency International-Pakistan, which also moved the court to stall the controversial sale of 350 acres of Karachi’s beaches and 600 acres of mangrove land. In Islamabad, the Capital Development Authority was recently planning to develop a housing estate on the nearly 1,400-acre research farms and laboratory facilities of the National Agricultural Research Council.

A national land inventory is required.

While the housing choices for the lower- and middle-income groups are virtually non-existent, there’s been a meteoric rise in speculative trends in land and property development.

Historically, the disposal of urban land was the core responsibility of urban development authorities. The objective in the residential land category was to create affordable options for those without a house of their own. Thus the Karachi Development Authority and similar institutions in cities acquired land from the provincial board of revenue for development and distribution.

With the inflow of remittances, dwindling of other investment options after the nationalisation of many enterprises, increased political intervention in land delivery and the preference of portfolio investors for land assets, speculative tendencies increased.

Plots and strips of land meant for amenity purposes and as future reserves were illegally occupied and sold in violation of the edicts of urban management. Gutter Baghicha and Kidney Hill in Karachi are examples where original land uses were set aside to make way for speculative disposals. In July this year, the National Accountability Bureau apprised the SC about probes into 150 mega land scams, reportedly involving billions of rupees. The bulk of our urban population resides in low-density, low-rise dwellings. This is a land-intensive format of development. As formally planned and legally kosher land is contested, informal settlements provide the answer to residential needs.

For over two decades, schemes of bulk land supply for the urban poor have not been prepared. The thrust of land supply is aimed at upmarket real estate where a wide range of collaborating actors experience a win-win situation. Aggressively launched schemes in the cities display this trend very visibly.

The present format of high-end real-estate development is not restricted to the municipal boundaries of cities. Shrewd realtors have a strategy to expropriate agricultural and pastoral lands from medium- and small-scale landlords. After lumping together a saleable chunk of base land reserve, seemingly elaborate housing schemes are launched.

With skilful use of imagery, visions of ultra-comfortable living are fabricated. Overseas Pakistanis, corporate-sector executives, medium-scale real-estate agents, traders and the likes become the core customers. As the main goal of most such stakeholders is profiteering, the forward prices of plots (or their files) rise exponentially within a short span of time. In many cases, the schemes depict invisible physical limits which are constantly adjusted in proportion to the investments made.

Wherever state land is available, realtors use their skills and networking to acquire it for commercial sale. In the absence of effective regulatory checks and third-party evaluation, lingering disputes crop up. Courts of law struggle to adjudicate on conflicts and competing claims.

The situation demands the preparation of a national land inventory with the assistance of the provinces. The various federal departments (including the railways and military authorities), provincial and local government agencies must publish the details of the land owned or controlled by them. Provincial governments must create autonomous planning agencies for cities to deal with land management, infrastructure and planning issues.

This would help streamline the otherwise haywire scenario of misappropriation and ill-managed utilisation of land in our cities and hinterland.

The writer is chairman, Department of Architecture and Planning, NED University, Karachi.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2015

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