KARACHI: A bench of Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday took up a petition of residents against the demolition of houses adjacent to drains in Orangi Town.
The counsel for the residents while arguing over the maintainability of the petition said the leased houses being demolished in the name of illegal encroachments.
“The petitioners have legal documents and lease papers,” counsel said.
“Unplanned construction and illegal approvals have inflicted harm to Karachi,” the bench said.
“Who had issued lease on nullahs,” Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi questioned. “These houses are adjacent to the nullahs and have proper documents,” counsel said.
“Don’t you remember the situation in Karachi in [last year’s] torrential rains,” Justice Hassan Azhar asked. “Children swept away in Orangi nullah amid rainfall.”
The bench issued notices to competent authority over the residents’ petition and summoned a response from the KMC and other departments in the next hearing.
The bench also ordered to satisfy the court over the maintainability of the petition.
A major anti-encroachment operation along the city’s nullahs has been launched under the deployment of the law enforcement agencies.
Recently, the land and anti-encroachment department had demanded the cancellation of the lease to the plots alongside the stormwater drains.
In a letter addressed to Karachi Development Authority (KDA), the anti-encroachment department had demanded the cancellation of lease agreements of the plots adjacent to Gujjar and Orangi nullahs.
The leased plots are the main hurdle in the implementation of expansion projects of the stormwater drains, the letter read.
Karachi’s drainage system is being remodeled following devastating rains past monsoon in the city due to the choking of rain drains and major nullahs.
The experts put forward their recommendations advising restoration of the rain drains and storm-water drainage in their original shape by removing the structures flanked by nullahs.
