In accordance with the orders of the apex court, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has launched a formal probe against Bahria Town Karachi, Bahria Town Lahore and Bahria Town Rawalpindi, according to a press release issued by the watchdog on Monday.
NAB Chairman Javed Iqbal has directed the relevant directors general to complete their investigation within three months, in line with the court's directions.
Take a look: Bahria Town Karachi: Greed unlimited
On May 4, the Supreme Court, in three hard-hitting verdicts against the real estate empire, had declared the procurement of land by Bahria Town for its housing projects in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Murree null and void while noting that significant transfers and allotments of land to each project had been done illegally.
The court had subsequently ordered the accountability bureau to file references against the individuals responsible for the transfers and to take action against them within three months.
In each order, the bureau was told pick up the thread from where it left off and take its investigations against Bahria Town to their logical end.
Read more: Projects like Bahria Town ‘are atom bombs for the poor’
In response to our queries, NAB on Monday explained that its investigation in the New Murree Development Scheme was already complete, and that the inquiry against Bahria Town Lahore was a new initiative to investigate if there have been any irregularities in that project as well.
Order against Bahria Town Karachi
The apex court had barred Bahria Town from selling or allotting land in the Bahria Town Karachi project after declaring that the allotment of land to the company by the Sindh government and a massive land swap with the Malir Development Authority (MDA) was done illegally.
"[...] We are constrained to declare that the grant of the land to the MDA, its exchange with the land of Bahria Town and anything done pursuant thereto being against the provisions of COGLA 1912 [Colonization of Government Lands Act, 1912] and statement of conditions are void ab initio and as such have no existence," the court ruled.
"The government land would go back to the government and the land of Bahria Town exchanged for the government land would go back to Bahria Town," the court ordered.
Order against Bahria Town Rawalpindi
Separately, the SC had also held Bahria Town responsible for encroachment on forest land in the Takht Pari area near Islamabad.
The issue raised in the Takht Pari case was that Bahria Town had 'encroached' upon 1,170 kanals of forest land, while the forest department had 'encroached' on an area measuring 765 kanals of Bahria Town.
However, the court struck down this mutual 'encroachment' deal, deeming it illegal and of no effect.
"We declare that the area of Takht Pari is 2,210 acres; that exchange of land purportedly encroached by Bahria Town and the forest department and attestation of mutations in this behalf being based on an erroneous assumption about the area is against the law and the record and as such of no effect and the order passed in S.M.C.No. 3 of 2009 is recalled."
Suo motu recommended against DHA
The court had also taken notice of alleged irregular allotment of land to the Defence Housing Authority (DHA).
In his judgement, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan — who headed the bench which heard the cases against Bahria Town — had drawn Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar's attention to allegations that lands had also been allotted to DHA and many other societies on throwaway rates in contravention of the law.
If so, the verdict had said, the chief justice should take suo motu notice of those housing projects as well so that all of them are treated alike.
