KARACHI, Dec 12: The NGOs' Alliance has strongly protested the attempts aimed at further slicing away the Gutter Baghicha land by covering only 162 acres in the PC-1 out of total available open space of 480 acres.

It maintained that this was a violation of the decision taken on June 21, 2003 under which the concerned city government department had been directed to prepare the design of a model park covering the entire area of the Gutter Baghicha.

Chairman of the alliance Nisar Baloch has appealed to President Musharraf that the relevant authorities be directed to save the land from further illegal occupation. He urged the president that the officials indulged in corrupt practices be taken to task. He referred to the president's clear cut directives to develop the Gutter Baghicha as a befitting park for the growing population of the mega city.

Mr Baloch has sent copies of the appeal also to the governor, chief minister, chief secretary and senior officials of the provincial government. 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 allotment of the land for the purpose had been cancelled after it was declared that the allotment was made in violation of the relevant rules. He pointed out that another illegal allotment of a plot on the same land had been kept intact in the PC-1. The plot had been allotted to a woman, he said.

Mr Baloch apprehended that if appropriate steps were not taken immediately, much of the Gutter Baghicha land would be grabbed by unscrupulous elements. In pursuance of the directives from the Chief Executive's Secretariat, the city government had decided to develop the Gutter Baghicha as a model park in phases. The first phase, to be completed at a cost of Rs200 million, is likely to be ready by January 2006.

President Musharraf, at one of his referendum rallies in April 2001, had announced provision of two national parks to Karachiites and directed the concerned authorities to develop such parks, one on the land of the old Sabzi Mandi on University Road and the other on the land of the Gutter Baghicha.

The old Sabzi Mandi site has been renamed as 'Askari Park' owing to its funding by army. Originally, the land measured 38 acres but when the army took it over for construction, almost half of the land appeared encroached upon or leased out to many private parties.

The city government, in its budget 2002-2003, 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 the funds.

In July this year, when the authorities tried to remove encroachments, the illegal hydrants, from the area, the operation faced stiff resistance from certain quarters and had to be stopped within two days of its launching.