KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought alternate housing arrangements for people residing along Gujjar and Orangi drains and affected by the anti-encroachment campaign while rejecting a request of the federal government to halt the drive.
During a hearing at the court’s Karachi Registry, the bench sought alternate accommodation for the affectees of the drive.
“How does the Sindh government plan to settle the affectees [of the drive],” the court asked.
The metropolis, the court observed, has been ruined through an “organised conspiracy”, declaring that district revenue collectors had become ministers in Sindh.
During the proceedings, Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan said that a human catastrophe is feared as about 40,000 people would be displaced owing to the demolition at both the drains.
“We request you to halt the demolition drive until the next hearing of the case or at least stop it for the next week,” Khan said, adding that leased housing units should not be demolished until alternate accommodation is arranged.
Khan further offered to sit with the National Disaster Management Authority and Sindh chief minister to sort out the issues on an urgent basis.
However, the court rejected the request and directed the authorities to continue with the drive against encroachments.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Supreme Court released a written order in the encroachment case, directing the authorities to compensate the affectees.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, directed the authorities to complete the expansion work of the drains and annulled all stay orders against it.
The NDMA and Sindh government should continue their work, the court directed, while further directing the authorities to compensate the affectees in accordance of the law.
The court also directed to recover the land of Kidney Hill within two days. “Illegal construction should be demolished from the amenity plot and be converted into a park,” the court ruled.
