KARACHI, Jan 8: Leasing of Katchi Abadies has been further delayed as the city council on Thursday fixed Jan 10 for debate after members of the council pointed out flaws in the lease policy in a report prepared by the city council's concerned committee.
The city council will take up this issue in its next session on Saturday. Muslim Pervez, who presided over the session, in his ruling pointed out that there are a number of conflicting things, which could not be incorporated in the final report.
Most of the members who seemed eager to pass the resolution about leasing of Katchi Abadies agreed to debate it in the next session after the ruling of the chair, except some members, including convener of the lease committee Gul Rahman.
It was pointed out that lease rates for Katchi Abadies are very high which the poor people residing in slums could not afford, and the members observed that the passage of resolution on the current rates would not serve the purpose as it would not provide any relief to the poor.
One of the members said that it was not clear whether all Katchi Abadies, regularised and non-regularized, are included in the lease policy or it would be applicable only to those Katchi Abadies declared before 1985.
The Liaquatabad Town nazim drew the attention of the house towards the placement of backward and developed towns in the same category of rates in the committee report which according to him would be unfair with the people of backward areas.
He particularly referred to inclusion of Liaquatabad Town with Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town and Gulberg Town which are most developed towns of the city and demanded that the Liaquatabad Town be excluded from this category.
Some others flaws pointed out by members include payment of 12 per cent of total value of plot to Katchi Abadies department for transfer before getting it leased, two per cent payment of total value of plot to Katchi Abadies department for mutation after the lease of plot and a fine of five per cent annually for delay in leasing the plot once the policy is approved. The members termed above mentioned provisions in the committee report unjust and demanded amendments.
Members from rural areas of city demanded of the city government to have a separate lease policy and rates for rural areas and said a committee should be formed to formulate new policy and rates. Besides Gothabad scheme, expired sometime back, should also be revived, they said.
Muslim Pervez in his ruling called for removing flaws and said that the Katchi Abadies should not be abandoned after leasing but there should be a mechanism for development of infrastructure in these areas, which has been ignored in the committee's report.
He questioned the inclusion of lease rates for industrial plots in the new policy as usually industrial units are not located in Katchi Abadies. Saeed Ghani, Sajjad Haider Dara, Shamim Mumtaz Wasi, Siddique Rathore and Abdur Razzaq Siddique and others participated in the debate.-PPI