Karachi: KSDP steering body to oversee matters of land, uplift in city

[Naveed Yaseen]

KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Local Government Agha Siraj Durrani disclosed during the assembly session on Thursday that the coordination committee for the development of Karachi formed by the federal government and headed by the Sindh Governor would now act as the steering committee of the Karachi Strategic Development Plan (KSDP) 2020. “According to the KSDP 2020, even the provincial government is not eligible to sell land in the city without consulting the CDGK,” Durrani informed the provincial assembly. Quoting section 6.6 of the KSDP 2020, Durrani said that this committee will be operated at the provincial government level and will ensure that even the provincial government and its various departments initiate any development project, grant, allocate or allot land for any purpose in accordance with the KSDP 2020. During the question hour session in the provincial assembly, on the question asked by PPP MPA from Karachi Nadeem Ahmed Bhutto, Durrani said that the provincial government has officially approved the KSDP 2020 through a official notification No SO (C-1) SGA&CD/4-77/2006 issued on October 11, 2006. On a supplementary question, Bhutto asked the minister for local government about the legal position of the CDGK that has approached the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other international donors for different projects. Interrupting the minister, chief minister Qaim Ali Shah said that legally, the CDGK could approach any international donors including the ADB for which the CDGK has already informed the provincial and federal governments prior to taking the initiative. In another supplementary question, Bhutto asked that whether the CDGK had the authority to allot coastal lands to different international institutions to build a beach city and other projects as it had done in the past. “According to the KSDP 2020, any land in the city shall be treated as a ‘land bank’ and shall not be allotted without the consent of the city government and if so, whether the land belonging to the board of revenue and other land owning agencies is included in this category?” Bhutto asked. In reply the minister said that since the land is an un-renewable resource, the KSDP 2020 calls for its efficient utilisation and development as a ‘land bank’ instead of allotting raw land. “The land must be developed and value added in coordination with the CDGK,” said Durrani. MPA Arif Mustafa Jatoi raised a question as to why the CDGK has recently allotted thousands of acres of land of the city’s beaches, which is property of Sindh government, to a foreign company. Durrani responded that as the CDGK is not the allotment authority in respect of the revenue land in the city and this is the domain of the land utilisation department, therefore the question must be put before the authorities of the land utilisation department. Durrani, while responding to a question by MPA Nadeem Ahmed Bhutto, said that the district local board owned the historical building of Radio Pakistan and now the CDGK is its owner, while the federal government should be asked about the delayed shifting of the Radio Pakistan to the new building. amar guriro

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