SHC sets deadline for resettlement of affectees in Lyari Expressway project

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday gave two months’ time to the administration for the resettlement of affectees in the Lyari Expressway project, ARY News reported.

A high court bench was hearing a plea seeking contempt proceedings against the Lyari Expressway Resettlement project director over failure to provide alternate plots to the affected people.

At the outset of the hearing, the SHC bench asked about the progress made in the case. We are planning, the matter will be resolved soon, the project director Lyari Expressway said.

Years have been passed but the matter remains unresolved, how much more time is needed for resettlement of the affectees, the court asked.

To this, the PD Lyari Expressway said that they need two months the solution of the problem. Later, the court adjourned the hearing, by giving two months’ time to the administration.

The construction of the Lyari Expressway required the demolition of 15,000 housing units and the displacement of 24,400 families living along the Lyari River.

This is thought to be the largest urban demolition project for the purpose of road-making in the world. To resettle the displaced people, the government launched the Lyari Expressway Resettlement Project. As part of this project, the people were given a compensation package that included an 80 square yard plot of land on the outskirts of Karachi and Rs 50,000 for construction. The lands were allotted in newly developed suburbs in Hawke’s Bay, Taiser Town and Baldia Town.