KARACHI, Aug 7: The Karachi NGO’s alliance has strongly condemned the attempts aimed at what it called the illegal occupation of Gutter Baghicha land by the officials of a cooperative society.

The alliance claimed that the cooperative society had tried to set up its camp office there, but the attempt had been foiled by the area residents.

According to the alliance, 1,200 acres of the Baghicha was illegally allotted to the employees of the defunct KMC in sheer violation of a decision taken on June 21, 2003 under which the relevant city government’s department had been directed to prepare a plan for a model park at the site in question.

Observers may recall that President Pervez Musharraf at a public meeting on April 28 held at the Mazar-i-Quaid announced that a model park would be constructed on Gutter Baghicha land. Subsequently, on July 7, 2003 Sindh Chief Secretary Dr Mutawakkal Qazi directed the relevant officials to chalk out a strategy to develop a park at the site.

The alliance maintained that at every stage attempts had been made to sabotage the park project.

The chairman of the alliance, Nisar Baloch, has appealed to President Pervez Musharraf and the relevant authorities to save the land from the clutches of the land mafia. He also demanded that the officials that indulged in corrupt practices be taken to task.

He pointed out that in the PC-1,200 acres of the land had been shown as the KMC Officers’ Cooperative Housing Society.

He said that the illegal allotment of the land should be cancelled as the allotment was made in violation of the relevant rules.

Mr Baloch apprehended that if appropriate steps were not taken immediately, much of the Gutter Baghicha land would be grabbed by unscrupulous elements.

It is worth noting that the city government, in its budget 2002-03, had earmarked Rs1 million for carrying out initial work on the Gutter Baghicha site but due to encroachments on the land, the required survey had to be stopped leading ultimately to the lapse of funds.