Supreme Court constitutes bench for Gutter Baghicha land recovery

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court bench has constituted a three-member bench headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan for recovery of the encroached land of Karachi’s Gutter Baghicha, ARY News reported.

Justice Muneeb Akhtar and Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi are other two members of the bench. The apex court bench will hear the case on February 17.

A Supreme Court bench, headed by former chief justice Gulzar Ahmed, had cancelled allotment of 200 acres land of Gutter Baghicha to KMC employees society, in its verdict on January 11.

The court has issued notices to Administrator Karachi, Advocate General Sindh and Secretary Local Government for the hearing.

The court in its ruling had said that the KMC could not allot the land to its own employees.

According to the law, this land could likely to have been allotted for educational, religious or other amenity purposes.

“The KMC employees formed a society for allotment of the land and got the Gutter Baghicha land allotted in the name of this society,” the bench observed.

“In this society retired employees and widows are residing,” the lawyer of KMC officers society argued.

It is to be mentioned here that Gutter Baghicha was one of the most beautiful and green places in Karachi. An oasis of open green forest spread over one thousand acres, which was slowly eaten up by unbridled urbanization and illegal encroachment.