KARACHI, Aug 13: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday asked its Nazir to inspect a commercial building alleged to have been built on an amenity plot and issued notices to the respondent city government, the Karachi Development Authority, the Karachi Building Control Authority and the alleged offenders for August 27.

The petitioner, Haji Gul Ahmed, submitted that an organization calling itself ‘Holy Quran Society’ was allotted a plot by the defunct Karachi Metropolitan Corporation near Guru Mandir in the late seventies. The principal office-bearers of the society put the plot to commercial use by building shops and renting them out. Instead of a secondary school, they constructed a small mosque in an attempt to cover up their unlawful conversion of an amenity plot into a commercial one.

The petitioner said the KBCA either connived at the illegal construction in league with the offenders or remained a silent spectator to it like other civic agencies, including the city government and its predecessor. According to his information, no building plan was got approved by the offending society, which also defaulted on payment of other dues and taxes. Utility connections were also obtained without proper sanction or payment of charges. He requested the court to order demolition of the illegal structure by the KBCA and construction of a secondary school as originally stipulated at the time of allotment by the defunct KMC.

A division bench comprising Justices Sabihuddin Ahmed and S. Ali Aslam Jafri directed that notices be issued to all the official and non-official respondents. The Nazir of the court would inspect the site and submit a report in the meantime.

Bb PROBE ORDERED: The division bench, meanwhile, ordered an inquiry into an allegation by a PPP MPA that a plot allotted to him was cancelled by the KDA for political reasons.

Petitioner Ayaz Soomro said while others who were allotted plots with him retained their property his allotment letter was revoked to punish him for his political affiliation.