Staff Reporter
Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor has demanded a high-powered commission against government officers who patronized land irregularities and encroachment mafia in the megacity. Warmly welcoming the heroic decisions of the apex court against corruption mafia in Sindh Building Control Authority and other departments, he said it is high time to remove and punish all corrupt officers and officials of these departments from top to bottom who facilitated the land mafia, hushed up irregularities and turned the blind eye to illegal constructions in the megacity.
He said strict action should be also be taken against the officers of the entities like KMC, KDA, SBCA, Cantonment Boards, KPT and Railways who facilitated encroachers to grab precious government lands. He said action should also be taken to entities that provided electricity, gas and water connections to these illegal settlements, structures and buildings. He said this organized mafia has defrauded hundreds of thousands of people and sold them lands, plots, flats and buildings illegally. He said these corrupt people irrespective of their grade and social status should be sacked and their political backers in the ruling and opposition parties should also be taken to the task.
Altaf Shakoor welcomed the order of the removal of all illegal structures from the land of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR). He said the people illegal occupying amenity lands should not be given any leniency.
He said strict action should be taken against them, and all government lands including the lands of the KCR must be got vacated at all costs. He said the federal, provincial and city governments should show seriousness to implement the orders of the apex court and get help of police and law enforcing agencies if the land and encroachment mafia causes trouble. He said for a better future of our coming generations we all will have to swallow this bitter pill now.
He said the government had shown courage to demolish illegal markets around the Empress Market building in Saddar Karachi and such courage should again be mustered to clear the track of KCR from encroachers.
He said shops and warehouses illegal built in parking areas of multi-storied buildings and markets should also be razed and actual parking spaces of these building as per their plan layout should be restored. He said illegal parking on main roads like Main University Road near Hassan Square and Burns Road before eatery shops should be ended and corrupt traffic police officers including high-ranking officers patronizing this illegal parking should be punished as per law.
