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HYDERABAD: The illegal occupants of a heritage site — a ‘ladies chamber’ belonging to the Kalhora dynasty — have been asked to vacate it so that the illegally raised structure could be removed / demolished.
The notice was issued to three occupants of the site informing them that they had annexed the heritage property to their adjacent plot.
The ladies chamber called ‘tajjar’ belongs to Kalhora ruler Mian Ghulam Nabi Kalhoro (1719-1753) and was declared ‘protected antiquity’.
Assistant Commissioner (AC) City Syed Noor Hussain issued the notice to its occupants, Mr Arif, Mr Naseer and Mr Zameer.
He said they had encroached upon the plot located next to their own plot falling under in the Katchi Abadis of the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC).
Earlier, in response to a communication sent to the HMC by the AC, he was informed that the plot bore city survey No. 2971 having the status of ‘municipal open space’.
The recipients of the notice own plot Nos. 370 and 371 in Ghulam Shah Kalhoro Colony.
The assistant director of Katchi Abadis department informed the AC on Feb 27 that the plot No. 370 was regularised and given in possession of Shabbir Hussain in 1997 and, as per record, a lease was issued.
The plot No. 371 was leased out to Noor Hussain in 1997, he was informed.
He said that no allotment order was issued for the piece of land housing tajjar, bearing survey No. 2971 in Ward-A.
Eventually, the AC asked occupants of tajjar to remove the encroachment raised on the plot. The notice was issued under Section 3 of the Sindh Public Property (Removal of Encroachment) Act, 2010.
The occupants have been given two days’ time to remove the encroachments failing which authorities would remove them.
The AC City heads the taluka-level Heritage Protection Committee formed on Dec 21, 2025.
On Dec 17, 2025, the Hyderabad deputy commissioner had issued directives to safeguard sites of historical significance across the district under six different terms of references (ToRs) prepared for such committees.
Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2026
