KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has issued notices to the chief secretary, administrator of the Defence Housing Authority and others in a petition filed against a provincial government’s plan to allot 6,000 acres of land to DHA.

A division bench comprising Justice Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan and Justice Rashida Asad took up the petition along with an application seeking urgent hearing of the matter.

After a preliminary hearing, the bench allowed the urgency application and issued notices on the main petition.

“Exemption granted subject to all just exceptions. Notice to the respondents as well as AAG for a date to be fixed by office after summer vacations,” the court order said.

Petitioner says land may be allotted to low-income people of Karachi on subsidised rates; SHC to hear case after summer vacations

Advocate Ashfaque Ali Panhwar moved the SHC and stated that the DHA had submitted an application to the Sindh chief minister in August last year for allotment of 5,000 to 6,000 acres of land in the vicinity of Hawkesbay for its expansion.

He contended that the Sindh government was considering and processing the request, while the DHA Karachi had also given a site plan of the 6,000 acres of proposed land at Hawkesbay.

The petitioner cited the chief minister, chief secretary, land revenue utilization secretary, DHA administrator, senior member Board of Revenue, deputy commissioner-Keamari and others as respondents.

He alleged that nothing was mentioned in the correspondence between the respondents about payment to the Sindh government against the 6,000 acres of land.

He stated that the provincial government had earlier allotted land to the DHA and others in Karachi and Hyderabad instead of accommodating underprivileged people of the province.

He said that the provincial government had earlier allotted 11,640 acres to the DHA for its DHA-City project without taking any government tax.

The petitioner submitted that the land in question was liable to be allotted to the low-income people of Sindh and especially residents of Karachi on subsided rates.

He asked the SHC to summon the respondents in person to decide the case and pleaded that the record may be called from the respondents about land allotted by the Sindh government to DHA and other persons/ projects during the past 15 years.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2024