Lease confirms DHA plots allocated for social welfare, SHC told

[Salman]

KARACHI: During the hearing of a petition in the Sindh High Court (SHC) against Aqeel Karim Dhedhi regarding commercial projects on social welfare plots, the counsel of the petitioner, Barrister Salahuddin, said on Thursday that according to the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) lease, these plots were dedicated for social welfare.

After the petition, the SHC halted commercial projects on these plots and sought the original lease of the land, till the time the DHA proves that the land was not specified for social welfare.

SHC judge Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput adjourned the hearing till today (Friday).The counsel of the petitioner presented the maps of social welfare plots to the court and said that the sewerage plant constructed on these plots had been bulldozed.

Earlier, the DHA had submitted the original lease and maps with affidavits, on which Barrister Salahuddin said that they had to submit all that with the affidavit of concerned officer and perhaps they were refraining from submitting the affidavit because they were not making correct statements. At this, the court ordered them to take their statement back and to submit it with the affidavit.

Before this, a resident of Defence, Zahidullah Khan made the Pakistan Defence Officers Housing Authority, Creek Developers, BF Property and Construction, and AKD Capital Limited respondents in the case, and held that the plots were specified for social welfare projects like schools, parks, graveyards and sewerage plants.

In the petition, a point was raised that Aqeel Karim Dhedhi was associated with investment and stock market and had no experience of real estate construction, and these plots could not be allotted or transferred to any individual, despite which the DHA illegally gave an NoC to the defendants without the consent of the federal government for constructing commercial buildings. In this manner, the DHA got involved in financial corruption.

Because these are social welfare plots, they can only be used for the welfare of the people, so the buildings on the land should be bulldozed. Moreover, the process of bidding was also not transparent. Aqeel Karim Dhedhi got this project through unfair means, and the project was run without the services of a technical consultant, which poses threats to its safety. That is why it was requested that the construction projects with the name of Creek Terraces, Creek View and Creek City should be bulldozed.

Another lawsuit was associated with this case. According to the court order, the lawsuit under consideration was linked to the other case.

Kashif Alam Associates and others made the BF Property and Construction, AKD Limited, Creek Developers, and Pakistan Defence Officers Housing Authority respondents in the case, and said that the AKD Limited fraudulently got the real estate mega project in Defence Phase-VIII, Creek City.

It was said that the defendant, BF Property and Construction, made the petitioner, Kashif Alam Associates and others consultants for the project and started work on the project and handed over detailed technical proposals to the BF Property and Construction. At this, they assured to make payments just after the launch of the project.

Afterwards, the defendants publicised others as the project consultants which was completely false. In this way, Aqeel Karim Dhedhi hijacked the project.He not only wants to deceive the public but also wants to deprive the applicants from the fruits of their services.

Therefore, it is requested that the process of bidding for the DHA should be restarted in a transparent manner. Moreover, the defendants should be stopped from launching this project and from inviting the public from making investments in it. The applicants cannot be legally segregated from this project as consultants.