SC to take up cases of amenity land encroachment in Karachi today

KARACHI: A bench of the Supreme is set to take up the cases about illegal constructions, encroachment of parks and conversion of amenity land for commercial and residential use for hearing on Tuesday, ARY News reported.

A three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed will hear petitions at Karachi registry today with Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah as other two members of the bench.

The bench will also hear a petition of former city nazim Niamatullah Khan against encroachment of public parks and conversion of amenity land for commercial and residential purposes.

Two petitions regarding illegal constructions in Lyari are also fixed before the bench today.

The bench will also look into the work for restoration of the Circular Railway. Divisional Superintendent Railways Karachi Mazhar Ali Shah has reached the Supreme Court registry. He will submit a report about recovery of the railway land from encroachments in the court.

Mayor Karachi Waseem Akhtar and the city’s police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon were also reached the court for hearing of cases.

The apex court had imposed a ban on conversion of residential and amenity plots into commercial spaces in Karachi and directed the authorities concerned, including cantonment boards, to review all such conversions allowed by them in the provincial capital.

The court, besides seeking an original master plan of the city from the authorities, had also directed the Karachi Development Authority and others to remove encroachments from parks and other public places forthwith.