About 31 years ago in April 1993, KMC announced a project namely Landhi Cottage Industry on Wool Washing Area near Buffalo Colony in Landhi and invited applications with nonrefundable fee of 100 rupees and advertisement in the newspapers offering 200 square yards plots to educated skilled youths of Karachi. KMC earned millions of rupees from applications alone.

The project was awarded three months later in July 1993. In which 2334 applicants were declared successful. I was among those lucky ones. The allottees had made all the payments for the plots on time as per the schedule of the KMC, from which the KMC has made a profit of more than 50 million in this regard so far. But KMC has failed to give plots to the allottees till now.

In this regard, the allottees visited the KMC offices several times but did not get any adequate response. The affectees of KMC’s callousness highlighted this issue in leading newspapers also.

About three/four years ago NAB also invited complaints from the affected people of various housing schemes/societies (including Cottage Industry Project of KMC) by placing advertisements in newspapers. I also submitted an application with documentary evidence. But till now no practical steps have been taken to solve this problem.

It was found through newspapers that illegal encroachments on the project land, including buffalo enclosures, have been established. The affected allottees have also filed a petition in the Sindh High Court for justice.

I request all relevant institutions (KMC, Board of Revenue Land Utilization Department, DC Malir, Chief Minister Sindh and NAB Karachi), especially Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab and Minster Local Sindh to take this matter seriously and resolve the issue of Landhi Cottage Industry’s land by ending the illegal occupation and the allottees without any further loss of time.

Sheikh Muhammad Ishaq (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024