Policy formation for providing shelter to lower strata of society: Supreme Court orders governments to allocate funds to EWG

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued directives to federal and provincial governments for budgetary allocation to Expert Working Group (EWG) on formulation of policy for provision of shelter to lower strata of society in Pakistan. Resuming the hearing of a Katchi Abadi case in response to identical pleas, a two-member bench comprising Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Dost Muhammad Khan gave responsibilities of co-ordinator of the EWG to Secretary Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) Mohammad Sarwar Khan.
On December 08, 2015, Ministry of Housing and Works, National Housing Authority had issued a notification to constitute an EWG of 17 members on formulation of national policy for addressing issues of Katchi Abadi and rehabilitation of inhabitants. As per the EWG TORs, "In order to evolve an effective national policy to address the issues of katchi abadis and rehabilitation of inhabitants the EWG will suggest policy guidelines to formulate a comprehensive National Policy on Katchi Abadis issues."
The bench asked the government to ensure financial facilitation to the EWG through amount allocation in the forthcoming budgets so that the group may devise strategy to formulate policy relating to regularisation of slums and the related matters under the certain constitutional provisions.
Restoring the stay order about dislocating inhabitants of the slums of Islamabad the bench asked the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to impose ban on developing any new slum in the Metropolis.
Expressing displeasure over the Punjab report, submitted in pursuance of the court' earlier directives in the matter, the bench observed that apparently land grabber and encroachers seems to get benefits from dislocation process of the slum dwellers. The bench remarked that what kind of compensation of land is being processed that a dislocated member from the slum is being allocated a plot of one kanal. The bench further said that from the process some bureaucrats and their cronies, who are land grabbers, were being benefited from shifting the slums' inhabitants. Turning down the Sindh province report in the matter the court said those who submitted incomplete report in the case would be taken to task.
Justice Mushir Alam remarked that the court knows what is happening in the Sindh province in the name of Shaheed Bhutto, adding that the questions was there as there was any trickledown effect of the funds allocated by the United Nations for the province. He said that the Sindh government had just cited laws and precedents in its report saying all this was present in the books of the apex court library as well.
Justice Mushir Alam said that he hailed from the Sindh province and know how land grabbing take place in the province, adding that such kind of affairs led the province to lawlessness. He further said that in absence of town planning in the province anybody who managed to get possession of a land without title becomes claimant of the land.
Balochistan law officer told the court that there were as many as 60 katchi abadis in the province, saying that a fresh survey has been approved in the matter. KPK law officer apprised that there was only one katchi abadi in Peshawar which has been regularised.
The CDA counsel Munir Piracha requested the court to vacate the stay order in the matter contending that under the pretext of the apex court stay order land grabbers were occupying green belts, parks, play grounds and government flats. Turning down Piracha's request the court said that EWG shall submit report that after the stay order which place has been occupied by the land grabbers in Islamabad. The petitioner, Bilal Minto, prayed the bench to allocate alternative place to inhabitants of slums of sector I-11 Islamabad but the court said the decision in this regard would be done after examining the EWG report. Hearing of the matter was adjourned for a month.