KARACHI, May 28: The splitting of responsibilities for carrying out development work in Gulzar-i-Hijri, KDA Scheme - 33, has multiplied the agonies of over 75 thousands of allottees who, despite payment of dues, have been waiting three decades to build their houses.
With the implementation of the devolution plan, the Scheme 33 stands transferred to the city government. Before the city Nazim can take any decision the officers concerned want a fresh assessment of the cost of its outer development due to the escalation of cost.
In this connection some initial meetings were held between the representatives of the city government and cooperative housing societies and builders. Another meeting is planned for June 1 in addition to preparations for a new PC-1.
Meanwhile, according to sources, as the government has put a ban on all transactions pertaining to scheme 33, particularly in cases where the land were allotted after 1985, it has stopped except work of immediate nature.
The scheme on either side of the Super Highway and known as Asia’s largest housing scheme, is spread over 26,026 acres in which over 120 cooperative housing societies and individuals have been allotted 12973 acres land.
The scheme could not take off even after 30 years. The scheme 36 Gulistan-i-Jauhar, which was much later announced, has almost completed. But the scheme-33, though notified by the KDA was not allowed to be under one organisation and has been split between different agencies viz:
*- Land allocation/allotment (Board of Revenue, government of Sindh). *- Cost of land and outer (collected by the dy. commissioners). *- Internal development of the area allotted (responsibility of societies/individual allottees).
Out of over 120 societies, except a few which failed to pay dues due to one or the other dispute, almost all have reportedly paid the cost and development charges as were initially fixed. Yet the outer development work comprising basic infrastructure (major roads, sewerage system and water supply main lines) has not been completed, with the result that the societies’ infrastructure, though developed, cannot be hooked with the main infrastructure of the scheme. Reasons for this abnormal delay and dislocation is the control by different agencies and lack of coordination, a spokesman of the federation of the cooperative housing societies said.
Officially, the KDA was notified vide government of Sindh notification No. 29-75/19-G(K)1 dated 3-3/1975 to be the agency responsible for fixing and collecting the outer development cost and execution of work. But in practice the deputy commissioner’s office collected the funds which were not released in time to the KDA and not even recovered as per schedule, he pointed out.
In 1994, realising that the allottees, patience was running out fast, the then chief secretary attempted to remove all impediments in the way of completion of the scheme, including the outer development work without further delay. But with the transfer of the chief secretary the initiative was blocked and the situation more or less remains the same.
In June 1999 the then Sindh governor Lt-Gen (retd) Moinuddin Haider ordered an enquiry into the land scam of Scheme-33 and called for a detailed report within a week. But soon with the transfer of the governor the authorities gave up paying any heed to the problem.
The summary of the outer development cost as per PC-1 prepared by the KDA in 1980 and subsequently revised in 1991 and 1997 as below:-
Cost original 1980, revised in 1991 and revised again in 1997: Rs1297.480 million, Rs2401.778 million Rs3619.68 million.
Non-availability of funds is said to be the cause for the inaction. So no progress on the development of the scheme has been witnessed for last 10 years. The functionaries whom the government entrusted the responsibility of developing the scheme had no time to attend to the matter involving thousands of allottees who continued to suffer over the endless delay and the spiral in the cost of construction.
In view of the shortfall in the actual cost of the outer development and the amount recovered from societies and others, some 1400 acres of prime corridor land on both sides of the Super Highway was placed at the disposal of the KDA to develop and generate fund through open auction and to provide facilities which societies could not afford in their limited area such as hospitals, post offices, parks, colleges, bus stops, stadiums, Jamia Masjids, Imam Bargahs etc. But the entire land has been swindled away during preceding regimes.
The plots located in the corridor were allotted on the basis of “political considerations”, defeating the very purposes for which the provision had been made. It is a fact known to all that the prime land in the scheme has been allotted through BOR to influential people at throw-away prices.
The Federation has reviewed with the KDA the outstanding work, cost and recovery in 1997 and, on an analysis, it was then discovered that if all the recoveries were made, the work could still be completed without putting any burden by way of increase in the outer development cost, provided the recoveries were expedited. Following is the summary:
Outstanding outer development cost to be recovered from all allottees — Rs 5.3 billion. Cost of balance works as on 1999 — Rs4.8 billion.
Already recovered from residential societies/individuals Rs517.237 million while outstanding amount is Rs 669.109 million.
The approved plan of the Scheme comprised 54 sectors with the breakup as under:-
a) residential 9185 acres, b) corridor 1400 acres, c) industrial 390 acres, d) amenities 2452 acres, e) major roads 2020 acres, f) green belt 2789 acres, g) village/Goths 3307 acres, h) others 4483 acres.
The scheme was to be developed and controlled as under:-
I - Land allotment - Board of Revenue, govt of Sindh.
II - Outer development work comprising major roads, water supply and sewerage - KDA as an agent of BOR.
III - Internal development of the land allotted to the societies and individuals societies/allottees themselves.
IV - Recovery/payment - deputy commissioner as an agent of BOR.
Though the authority as per notification was vested in the KDA from the very beginning, it was never acted upon. The deputy commissioner started recovering outer development charges and utilised the same in violation of the rules.
There was no progress in the outer development work on the ground up to 1978-79, though payment was made by the societies as demanded by the deputy commissioner.
The KDA which initially had spent Rs264 million in carrying out the initial development work was later transferred to the BOR and the cost recovered from the allottees and societies was deposited with the DC Malir, where an amount of Rs100 million had been accumulated till 1990.
The Federation of the Societies has requested the Sindh government to transfer the Scheme to one authority to evolve a system of one-window operation to recover the outer development charges and execute the work.