Staff Reporter
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday directed all the divisional
commissioners and deputy commissioners not to bulldoze any katcha house or cottage of the poor
people, otherwise he would take strict action against them.The Commissioner Karachi and deputy
commissioners of the city were present in the meeting while the commissioners and deputy
commissioners of other divisions and districts of the province partook via video link.The chief minister
said that the provincial cabinet had decided that no house would be bulldozed during the on-going
shivering winter. He added that the Supreme Court has ordered removal of encroachment along the
roads, footpaths and nalas. “But, the district administration has started bulldozing katcha houses along
the embankments of the canals and leaving them and their children under the open skies,” he said and
added “this is an inhuman act and will not be tolerated.”The chief minister said that if any bungalow
constructed on any encroached land was bulldozed he would not mind it but “as far as the katcha
houses or cottages are concerned I would not tolerate their bulldozing,” he said.Murad Ali Shah said
that on his instructions, Advocate General Sindh had met with chief justice of Sindh High Court and
requested him to stop district & session judges from ordering the removal of katcha houses.A few days
back the city commissioner countering the allegation that the anti-encroachment operation started on
the SC’s order only targeted the poor, had said several marriage halls built on public parks were also
demolished in the anti-encroachment drive.A lot of influential people were affected by the anti-
encroachment drive that was initiated to comply with the SC’s order, Shallwani said while speaking a
gathering, adding that the order pertained to retrieval of public properties such as parks, waterways and
nullahs from encroachers and it also carried directions against the commercialisation of public
properties.Shallwani said that it was on October 27, 2018, when the Empress Market was cleared of
encroachments on the Supreme Court’s order. He informed the event that at that time only a few days
had passed since he had taken over his charge and three of his predecessors had told him that they had
always called off such an operation because of the fear of huge backlash that could result in
bloodshed.
