ISLAMABAD, June 21: The National Assembly was told on Monday that about 87.127 acres of government land are under illegal occupation in Karachi. The house was informed about this in response to a question by MNA Raja Muhammad Asad Khan , who sought details of government land under illegal occupation in Karachi and the steps taken to get the land vacated.

In a written response, Minister for Housing and Works Syed Safwanullah said the matter of illegal occupation had been there for 30 years. He said the government had made several efforts to get the land vacated but whenever notices were served, the unauthorised occupants went into litigation.

The minister said the government was making efforts to get those pieces of lands vacated which were not under litigation, with the assistance of law-enforcement agencies.

Details of the land under illegal occupation in the city showed that 45 acres of land in the federal government colony in the FC Area had been declared a katchi abadi by the Sindh government, named as Moosa Colony.

Another 7.5 acres of land in the same area had been declared Katchi abadi by the Sindh government and named Punjab Colony, while about 12 acres of federal government land in Jehangir, West Karachi, had also been declared as Katchi abadi by the Sindh government and named Patel-Para, the details showed.

In the Federal Government Colony, Pakistan Quarters on Nishtar Road, some 12 acres of land leased out to Mr Abu Bakar Lashari were under litigation, the house was informed.

The minister further told the assembly that the lease of 12 acres of land to Mr Lashari was withdrawn in 2000 and a case to the effect was in the Sindh High Court. A case of 2.29 acres of land relating to Plot Nos 88, 198, 199 and 207, in Garden West was also under litigation in the SHC, he said.

The house was told that a piece of land measuring 3.15 acres, named as Carlton Hotel, near the Cantonment Railway Station, was also under litigation in the SHC. Out of 5.187 acres of government land in the Nishtar Basti, near the old Sabzi Mandi, 1.249 acres were transferred to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation in 1991, while a case for 3.838 acres under unauthorised occupation was under process in the court, it was told.