KARACHI, June 29: Sindh minister for Local Government and Kutchi Abadis Dewan Muhammad Yousuf Farooqui has directed the provincial secretary for the LG to issue instructions to all departments and agencies concerned to take measures to prevent vacant government land from being encroached.

The issue of encroachments on government land came up at a recent meeting of the Governing Body of Sindh Kutchi Abadis Authority. The meeting, under the chairmanship of the minister, had also approved the launching of a low-cost housing scheme. The minister was told that 75 acres available in Sector 19/A, Baldia Town, for the low- cost housing scheme was partly under encroachment, official sources told PPI.

The land belonged to the defunct Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, which had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with an NGO, named Saiban, for the low-cost incremental housing scheme. This scheme now will be executed by the SKAA.

At an earlier meeting of the SKAA’s governing body, the minister was informed that about 200 acres of land near New Sabzi Mandi on Super Highway, earmarked by the government for the construction of new central prison, was being encroached.

The SKAA director general said that at the time of shifting of the old Sabzimandi, he had asked the government to allocate land near the new Sabzimandi for the incremental housing so that residential accommodation to the labourers could be made available on a self-financing basis, but the Board of Revenue had said that no land in the vicinity of the new Sabzimandi was available.

Dewan Yousuf had directed the BoR’s member for land utilization to visit the site immediately, stop the encroachment and take action against those involved in the scam and submit a report. The City Nazim was also asked to look into this case at his level in order to save this valuable land from encroachers.—PPI