SHC issues notices on petition against 6,000 Acres land allotment to DHA

KARACHI – Sindh government's plan to allot 6000 acres to Defence Housing Authority (DHA) landed prompted a petition in Sindh High Court.

A report shared by local publication claimed that apex court of country's southeastern region issued notices to chief secretary, the administrator of Defence Housing Authority (DHA), and other relevant parties in response to a petition challenging the provincial government’s plan to allocate 6,000 acres of land to DHA.

It mentioned that division bench comprising Justice Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan and Justice Rashida Asad reviewed petition and granted the urgency application and issued notices on petition.

The petitioner stated that land should be allocated to low-income residents of port city at subsidised rates. Advocate Ashfaque Ali Panhwar moved, arguing that DHA requested the Sindh chief minister in August last year for the allotment of 5,000 to 6,000 acres near Hawkesbay for expansion purposes.

He claimed that the Sindh government was considering and processing this request, and DHA Karachi had provided a site plan for the proposed 6,000 acres in Hawkesbay.

The petitioner listed the chief minister, chief secretary, land revenue utilization secretary, DHA administrator, senior member Board of Revenue, and deputy commissioner-Keamari, among others, as respondents.

He alleged that there was no mention of payment to the Sindh government for the 6,000 acres in the correspondence between the respondents.

The petitioner further highlighted that provincial government previously allotted land to DHA and other entities in Karachi and Hyderabad instead of providing for the province’s underprivileged people.

He also pointed out that the provincial government had earlier allotted 11,640 acres to DHA for the DHA-City project without any government tax. The petitioner asserted that the land in question should be allotted to low-income residents of Sindh, especially those in Karachi, at subsidized rates.