Housing project: DHA project may swallow Gadap goths

[Salman]

Housing project: DHA project may swallow Gadap goths




KARACHI: The Defence Housing Authority (DHA) is forcing the Sindh government to allocate land in Gadap Town by removing dozens of indigenous goths, villagers and local leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) say.

“According to our information, DHA wants thousands of acres of land in dehs Bahil and Kathore, which consist of dozens of scattered villages,” said Raja Razak, a local PPP leader while talking to The Express Tribune on Tuesday.

The villagers held a meeting on Monday and invited provincial minister Sajid Jokhio to deliberate on the matter. DHA and the Sindh government’s revenue department have not confirmed this.

The DHA is building a $1 billion housing project called DHA City Karachi (DCK) along the Super Highway. The project spread over 11,640 acres near dehs Bahil and Kathore.

“These villages can’t be uprooted just to make way for another project,” said Razak. “These people have been living here even before Independence. They have more right over the land than anyone else.”

Just a few days back, President Asif Ali Zardari ordered DHA to allocate 1,000 acres in DCK for the families of soldiers who have been martyred fighting terrorists. DHA has already sold most of the plots in the project.