The owners of 685 plots of various housing schemes/townships of defunct KDA, who had been previously allotted residential plots at rates lower than the market value, in violation of the ban imposed during the period 02-08-1990 to 06-11-1996 have been asked in pursuance of Section-4 (2) of the Sindh Government Land (Cancellation of Allotments, Conversions and Exchanges) Ordinance-2000, to pay the differential amount being the loss caused to public exchequer.
A list of such plot owners has been published along with the names and residential addresses at Karachi City Government's website http://www.karchicity.gov.pk under the heading "Public Notice for 685 Plots".
There are also a number of high-rise residential complexes constructed during the period of ban by individual builders and developers in the city.
Ignorant people purchased these shops and apartments from the builders and paid the total cost of the units booked by them, at which time the builders were supposed to transfer/register these properties in the names of individual purchasers, by getting the sub-leases registered in the names of individual shop/apartment owners with the concerned registrar.
With the passage of time the individual purchasers took possession of these properties, but after a lapse of more than five years, the builders and developers could not get these properties registered with the concerned registrars, due to the ongoing dispute with the government of Sindh, on the differential amount of individual plots on which they constructed high-rise residential complexes.
The legal status of the individual owners of such shops and apartments hangs in the balance, as they only remain "as occupants in the possession letter given by the builders to them" and not the "owners of individual units/properties" without having the title document registered in their individual names.
It seems that people sitting at the helm of affairs in the Sindh Government has a soft corner for such builders, who have not paid the differential amount to the government of Sindh in order to regularise their individual disputed property cases.
The sympathy of the Sindh Government toward the builders is also evident from the fact that the names and addresses of such builders and developers have not been included and publicised in the list of the defaulters which is published at Karachi City Government's website.
No announcement till date have been made by the Sindh government in the print and electronic media against such builders, who are also members of ABAD, so that the general public should not fall into the trap of such controversial-builders and should refrain from purchasing shops and apartments in such residential complexes, which have become disputed, due to the differential amount to be paid to the Sindh government.
The process of accountability in our country is not only slow but also very poor.
The question arises that what action the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has taken till date against those authorities who have sold these plots to the individuals, builders and developers during the period of the ban?
What course of action the Sindh Government has adopted to recover the differential amount from the builders and developers that is causing billions of rupees loss to the public exchequer? What action has been take so far by the Sindh government to put the ownership cases straight for the uncounted people, who have paid full amount to the builders, but cannot re-sell and execute the sale agreements of these shops and apartments in the open market to other prospective purchasers without having proper title documents in their own names?
Why the Sindh government is sitting ideal on this issue and does not make a quick move to settle the dispute of differential amount with the builders and give them a specific period of time and instruct the builders to register the sub-leases of the individual properties in the name of the property purchasers of the shops and apartments, who do not stand defaulters neither to the builders nor to the Sindh government and are only suffering due to the dispute of differential amount of money with the government of Sindh?