SHC stays allotment of land for housing scheme to DHA

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has given a stay against allotment of land for housing schemes, including any allotment in the name of the Defence Housing Authority, by the cooperative societies department or Sindh government till the next date of hearing.

The directions came on Raza Mohammad and Hussain’s petitions challenging the proposed allotment of 6,000 acres to the DHA in the Hawkesbay area. The high court had earlier directed the provincial chief secretary to place on record the policy for allotment of land to any agency or authority as well as the policy regarding the regularisation of old villages.

Issuing an order on the petitions, a division bench headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar observed that the Sindh government and others had failed to submit their comments on the petitions.

The high court observed that the respondents had however stated that they had not in fact allotted any land to the DHA for the proposed housing scheme and only a proposal existed for that.

The high court observed that the Housing Authority Ordinance 1982 mandated the allotment of land for housing schemes with reference to the new-repealed Cooperative Societies Act 1925.

The bench observed that the Sindh Cooperative Societies Act 2020 was currently the governing statute and the legal framework under the 1925 law was no more applicable. The high court observed that this change in the applicable laws had let the court to determine that the housing schemes could not be carried out by the cooperative societies department or the Sindh government under the Housing Society Ordinance 1982.

The high court observed that a task force had also been constituted in another matter and a stay order passed in the constitutional petition. The SHC observed that these concurrent legal action and orders further restrained any allotment of land for housing schemes, including those involving the DHA.

The bench ordered that there shall be stay on any allotment of land pertaining to the housing scheme by the cooperative societies department or Sindh government till the next date of hearing. The SHC also directed its Nazir to submit a report after visiting all the villages located in the Hawksbay area and submit a report on the status of the villages on the land in question.

The high court observed that details provided by the Gothabad scheme indicated that there were 58 villages within the relevant area based on a list compiled in 2010. The SHC directed the authorities to conduct a fresh survey by constituting a committee comprising members of the Gothabad scheme, Board of Revenue and land utilisation department.

The bench directed the committee to visit the sites, record statements of the relevant stakeholders and prepare a comprehensive report that provided complete information of the villages, including the names of indigenous persons who were residing in these areas.

The high court also emphasised that these individuals shall not be subjected to any harassment or disturbance in accordance with the court orders. The SHC also repeated notices to the DHA to file comments on the petitions.

The petitioners’ counsel Aaquib Rajpar and Ali Asghar said the provincial government had planned to allot 5,000 to 6,000 acres of land in the Hawkesbay area for extension of the DHA. The counsel said that such an allotment would result in the eviction and the demolition of villages in three Dehs: Chitara, Allah Bakhsh and Mundhyari.

They said that the official correspondence between the DHA and the provincial government showed that the allotment of land in question was on the verge of completion and it was being done without considering thousands of poor fishermen and villagers whose livelihood depended only on the business of fishing since the pre-Partition era.

The counsel said the villagers residing there since the time of their forefathers, feared dispossession due to the new housing scheme. They said the villages should be regularised under the Gothabad Act, 1987.

They also said the DHA operated independently and it was established to benefit a certain class of people and generate income as a non-governmental authority. The DHA fell under the domain of the cooperative housing society department and should be treated accordingly under the laws and rules, they added.