Remove marriage halls from CAA land: SC

KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Board of Revenue to submit a complete report on the illegal occupation and encroachments on the state land in Sindh.

Hearing a petition on encroachments of the government land, the Supreme Court's three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, asked the revenue official as to what steps were taken to protect the revenue record from being tampered. The senior member of the Board of Revenue submitted that 95 percent of the land record had been computerised and uploaded on website. He submitted that about 400 suspected revenue record entries have been blocked.

To a court's query about the removal of encroachments on the state land, the revenue officer submitted that the encroached land was retrieved with the assistance of the Irrigation and Forest departments. The court directed the Revenue Department to submit a report to that effect. The court observed that encroachments on the state land is a serious problem and state functionaries should ensure the removal of encroachments.

Regarding the allotment of land to the Civil Aviation Authority, the chief justice inquired from the CAA director general about the purpose of additional land and the utilisation of previously-allotted land. The court inquired from the CAA officer as to why the CAA land was being used for running marriage halls. The court ordered the removal of marriage halls from the CAA land and directed that the airport land shall be used only for the purpose of airport. The court expressed dissatifaction over the performance of CAA and observed that the Karachi airport was in a dilapidated condition and all the international traffic was diverted from Karachi.

The CAA counsel submitted that 209 acres of the CAA land were being illegally allotted. The senior member Board of Revenue submitted that NA-class land has been surveyed and demarcated. He said that previously the land was not allotted on market price.

The court also issued notices to KMC and others on an application against the commercial use of the Askari Park at old Sabzi Mandi. The applicant submitted that the park administration was using the park on commercial basis and shops were allotted to private persons.