National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak), a public sector organisation, has confirmed a "dacoity" of Rs 500 million in procurement of 10 acre land at Korangi (Karachi) by the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) allegedly planned by a group of influential people, sources in Nespak told Business Recorder.
According to the official record, 10 acre of land was purchased in the name of NICL through a registered sale deed on August 29, 2009 from M/s Bagh-e-Korangi Private Limited through its Attorney Khalid Anwar Khan, an absconder presently residing in the United States.
According to the Senate''s standing committee on Commerce, headed by Senator Ilyas Bilour, the total worth of 10 acres of land at Korangi is not more than Rs 90 million (Rs 9 million per acre). Senator, Haroon Akhtar Khan, Senator Ishaq Dar and Senator Sameen Siddiqui made sustained efforts to reach the real ''players'' of this scam, in addition to the Supreme Court which instructed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to nab the accused.
Most of the accused of Korangi land scam including former Chairman NICL, Ayaz Khan Niazi, are behind bars, but one Director, Ameen Qasim Dada, who is allegedly privy to suspect deals implicating other important people, remains at large. Insiders say Ayaz Khan Niazi, the leader of this scam, gave huge sum to a key personality who ultimately returned that amount after the situation went out of control.
According to Nespak, assessment of land (10 acres) was based on a general market survey of the area. The survey included contracting various real estate agencies in the vicinity. Nespak team also made enquiries of the value of the properties in the area in the past, recent past and present.
The report reveals that estate agencies in the vicinity have never engaged in deals involving such big parcel of land in the past or the present. It further adds that it is an ideal piece of land within the vicinity for residential plus commercial purposes as this is a 10 minutes drive to Shahrah-e-Faisal and airport due to the newly constructed 5 km long Korangi-Shah Faisal link bridge. This bridge was completed in 2008 resulting in the appreciation of value of properties in the vicinity at that time.
Estate agents value this parcel of land between Rs 38 million to Rs 43 million per acre. A similar piece of 6 acre of land is available for sale behind Indus hospital near Korangi Crossing at about Rs 35 million per acre. Alternative way of estimating the historical value of this property is to inquire about the price range of small plots in the vicinity.
Information provided by the real estate agents to the Nespak team, developed residential plots measuring 120 squire yard .yd in the vicinity and adjacent areas like Gulshan-e-Millar are available between the range of Rs 500,000 to Rs 700,000. Commercial plots measuring 200 square yard in the same scheme and facing main Korangi-Shah Faisal link road are available in the range of Rs 3,200,000 to 3,700,000.
Nespak is of the view that keeping in view the prices collected through estate agents vis-à-vis size of the plots, the estimated value of such land is close to Rs 40 million per acre. According to the standard master planning practice, at least 30 percent of the plot area is kept for amenities and infrastructure development, which leaves70 percent of the plot area for utilizing as residential cum commercial purpose as per by laws of the local authorities.
Nespak is of the view that as this property is located on prime location main Korangi-Shah Faisal link road connecting the area to Shahrah-e-Fasial, a premium of 20 be added to this price. Hence, the final cost of this land comes to Rs 412.6 million.
"We safely assume that the historical price of the property in July 2009 ranged from Rs 38 million to Rs 43 million per acre," the report concluded. It is pertinent to mention here that Nespak has carried out assessment of the historical worth in July/ August 2009 of a land property located in Deh Phihai, Korangi Township, in compliance to a request from the NICL.