CDGK yet to identify land for bus terminal to get replacement after 14 years

"Faqeera Goth and Aaka Khail Basti established on 45-acre plot"

December5, 2009
By Irfan Aligi

KARACHI: The encroachers have established spatial settlements on a 45-acre plot of land, which the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) had specified for the establishment of an inter-city bus terminal. The land is located at the Super Highway some 9-km to Sohrab Goth in the vicinity of Deh Bitti Amri, scheme 33. CDGK had received allotment of that land in 1995 and it was planned that the inter-city bus terminal would be completed by 2000. The remaining 15-acre land has been converted into park and graveyard.

Shortly, a 15-acre land from total 45-acre plot was encroached while the CDGK wanted to establish inter-city bus terminal so it had delayed implementation of the plan waiting for the removal of the encroached part of land. However, the delay caused CDGK loses another 15-acre land so the eviction became cumbersome and finally the land was lost to the hands of the encroachers.

One of the encroachers has established “Faqeera Goth” named after the leader of the residents of the encroached 15-acre land of 45-acre plot, Faqeer Muhammad alias Faqeera. The other encroacher has established Aaka Khail Basti on another 15-acre part of the total land.

These two spatial settlements on CDGK’s land have prevented CDGK from any efforts for the eviction of the occupied land because these settlements have been established on the basis of ethnic communities thus these have posed serious law and order threats.

Illegal establishment of these two settlements has caused the CDGK lose its prime land reserved for the establishment of inter-city bus terminal.

Sindh government has also expressed its compulsion to recover the occupied land saying that these settlements could not be removed on the pretext of untoward law and order situation on ethnic grounds.

However, Sindh Chief Secretary (CS) had in a meting asked the District Coordination Officer (DCO) Karachi Muhammad Javed Hanif Khan to write a request to Member Land Utilization (LU) Sindh Board of revenue (BOR) Subhan Memon for the allotment of appropriate land in replacement to the occupied land after identification of available land on Super Highway.

However, Memon had suggested that the DCO on behalf of CDGK should write to Sindh Chief Minister so as to avoid any complication. Responding to the suggestion, the CS asked the DCO to submit a request to him so that he could issue necessary directives for the allotment of land in favour of CDGK.

Meanwhile, in a meeting held on Oct 12, 2009 convened by the Sindh Secretary Transport to discuss certain issues pertaining to human rights, transport, encroachment of land and environmental pollution had plainly refused to recover the occupied land and decided that CDGK would be given land of equal measurement in replacement.

The DCO, Sindh Regional Transport Authority Secretary and other officials attended the meeting.

A well-placed CDGK officer under the condition of anonymity told Daily Times that the Sindh government should establish its writ and the land should be evicted rather proposing CDGK to accept replacement.

The officer added that City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal had visited the site of encroached land and had appealed to the occupants to relinquish the possession peacefully so that a much-needed inter-city bus terminal could be established on the land.

City Nazim had also said that the establishment of inter-city bus terminal at city’s outskirt would help control the smoke pollution while traffic gridlock scenes would also be reduced. Thus the city’s beautification would improve while citizens’ unrest would be removed.

However, the encroacher, Faqeera tried to create law and order situation so the dialogue remained unsuccessful, claimed the officer.

Nonetheless, CDGK has yet to get land replacement from Sindh BOR because of delay in correspondence between the CDGK and the CS. The CS could only issue necessary directives after departments concerned had completed their work such as identification of land, which responsibility lies on CDGK Executive District Officer (EDO) Revenue.

Daily Times has learned that a CDGK delegation comprising EDO Transport and Communication Department (T&CD) and District Officer and EDO Revenue would visit Super Highway on Monday for the identification of appropriate land for inter-city bus terminal.