KARACHI, Feb 14: The Sindh High Court attached on Saturday a sprawling commercial and residential project spread over 24 acres in Sector 13-A, KDA scheme 33, allegedly being raised on provincial government land and in violation of a court order in a pending suit.

The suit was instituted by Shahida Zafar Maniar complaining that she executed a general power of attorney in favour of M/s Rufi Builders and Developers for legal use of the 15 acres leased out to her in the KDA scheme. But the attorneys unlawfully occupied another nine acres of the adjacent provincial government land and launched an ambitious residential and commercial complex comprising apartments, shops, bungalows and a huge market.

No sanction for the project was obtained from her as the lessee or from the lessors or the building control authorities concerned. Bungalows were being constructed on a nullah and other structures being raised on land earmarked for roads.

She sought injunctions against the construction firm, her attorney, and its building complexes named Rufi Greenland and Rufi Bara Market so that she was not held liable as a lessee for the gross violations being committed by the defendants.

The government of Sindh joined in the proceedings as a defendant and submitted in the court that the allotment to the plaintiff had been cancelled under Ordinance III of 2001, which revoked all leases and allotments granted and made at prices below the market rates.

The lessees and the allottees were given the option to pay up the difference between the market and reserved prices or surrender their rights. The power of attorney executed by the plaintiff was no longer valid and the entire construction project was violative of the law and rules. Insofar as encroachment on the government land was concerned, it was patently illegal.

Justice Amir Hani Muslim issued an interim order in the suit on Oct 3, 2003, restraining the builders from raising further construction and asking them to maintain status quo in respect of the suit property. The provincial government, however, complained that the construction was continuing and moved two applications under the civil procedure code and the law of contempt through Additional Advocate-General M. Ahmed Pirzada.

The applications came up before Justice Muslim on Jan 27 and he directed the SHC nazir to carry out inspection of the site and seal and attach the property if the defendant builders were still in violation.

A notice was issued to the firm's managing partner in the contempt application.

The nazir, Mueenuddin Ahmad, inspected the site and submitted in his report that the disputed property consisted of a basement, lower ground, ground floor and three more floors. Construction material, for example, wooden shuttering and bajri were found lying on the premises. However, no construction activity was in evidence at the time of inspection.

The SHC nazir also reported that the entire land in dispute had been attached and that the attachment order had been served on the defendants and the registration and other authorities concerned.