Land mafia destroying Karachi from within

[Naveed Yaseen]

The war over resources in the city is now entering a deadly downward spiral, as land grabbing mafias, often migrating from other parts of the country are working in alleged collusion with police and law enforcement agencies to usurp prime land and resources.

Due to the land grabbing culture prevailing in the city, large bungalows and prime locations are now surrounded by Katchi Abadis, which have become hotbeds for all kinds of illegal activities. One such example is the old Sabzi mandi, where Askari Park now stands. The then corps commander Karachi said that this place was an illegal ammunition den and due to this fact much resistance was put up against shifting Sabzi mandi to a new location. The army had to carry out a big operation to clear the land.

Another glaring and recent example is the Jheel Park, Bagh-e-Ibn-e-Qasim, where the present city Nazim got huge parks built, which were occupied by land grabbers all hailing from upcountry. Safari Park was also similarly occupied, and a big operation was launched to clear it as well. Those people who have come from upcountry and settled illegally upon land have also usurped the civic rights of citizens who are forced to pay exorbitant utility bills due to the Kunda culture, which these land grabbers use to steal electricity off the power grid. Citizens are forced to bear the brunt of the actions of these people, while also paying taxes for civic facilities being utilised by them.

City Nazim, Syed Mustafa Kamal has repeatedly said that the menace of encroachment has to be weeded out, but numerous political hitches have stopped him from carrying out large-scale operations against those who have usurped prime state land. It is not surprising to hear that this same land mafia will set fire to such illegal properties when they want to reclaim them from people whom they had earlier given them to. These homeless people then demand both land and cash. Lyari Expressway is the most recent example of this process, where such people have been provided land and cash although they were all settled illegally. As Lyari Expressway north bound has been opened and south bound is about to open, the only hope for the area is a big operation.

Most senior citizens who are monitoring this situation say the only solution is for local police to place a complete ban on land grabbing, and these resources should be transferred to locals. If such action is not taken, then all political efforts being led by committees of the ANP and MQM will fail to resolve this crisis, and in turn, it is going to result in riots such as the Qasba colony tragedy and the famous Bushra Zaidi case which also ended in violent riots.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=151919