The Sindh High Court has asked the provincial government not to charge the SHC’s employees present market rates for the allotment of 100 acres land in Hyderabad for establishing a cooperative housing society.
The Hyderabad circuit bench noted on Thursday that the allotment of the land in GanjoTakkardeh, in Latifabad taluka, in favour of SHC Employees Cooperative Housing Society was supposed to be made in 2017.
During the hearing, additional advocate general (AAG) Allah Bachayo Soomro submitted an informal copy of the provincial government’s scrutiny committee’s recommendations in light of its April 8 meet ing.
The meeting suggested 50 per cent of the current market price at Rs3.5 million per acre of land in C category for the housing society.
The petitioners’ counsel, Advocate Tehseen Ahmed Qureshi, challenged the recommendation on a number of grounds.
The counsel said the petitioners were supposed to be heard by the scrutiny committee in compliance with the SHC order before fixing the rate.
The lawyer said the land was supposed to be allotted in 2017, but the government’s delay had dragged the matter for four more years.
He demanded that comparable rates as of 2017 should be applied for the allotment in question.
The bench observed that Rs3.5 million prevailing market price was a suggestion by the scrutiny committee and had not attained finality.
The AAG assured the court that the petitioners would be heard by the committee before deciding the rates.
The court directed the provincial government to sympathetically consider the case of the petitioners and also to accept that the delay was caused by official respondents and not the petitioners.
The court directed the AAG to facilitate a meeting between the petitioners and the provincial government and to inform the court about the outcome of the meeting.
