KARACHI: The Supreme Court has summoned details of all ST (amenity) plots in Karachi.
During hearing at the Karachi Registry, the top court issued show-cause notices to South City Hospital and Ziauddin Hospital and sought their original documents.
Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed remarked that only government hospitals and schools can be built on amenity plots. “A public hospital should have been built on the plot where South City is today,” he added.
He instructed the Karachi Development Authority to vacate all ST plots immediately, adding that people have encroached on lands and are using them for commercial purposes.
The chief justice also inquired about the Comm3 Residency near Boat Basin which he said was built on land reclaimed from the sea. The KDA director-general said the permission for the building was given by the chief minister.
The court observed that shopping malls have been built on the plots that were allotted for parks. “Who is changing the master plan of the city,” the top judge inquired. KDA DG said that all encroached land in Karachi is worth approximately Rs7 billion.
Civil rights organisation Shehri’s general secretary Amber Alibhai told the court she had complete record of how the lands were encroached upon. She said that amenity plots could be used for hospitals but not for commercial purposes.
The KDA DG said that the plots could be used for “special purposes”. CJP said: What is the special purpose of these hospitals? They are being used commercially.
The Supreme Court summoned records of all ST plots in the city. The KDA was instructed to prepare a detailed report of their master plans and how and when these plots were allotted.
