KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has officially reserved its judgment on a petition filed by affected allottees seeking the retrieval and possession of 2,300 plots in Karachi’s Landhi Cottage Industries area. During the proceedings, the petitioners’ counsel, Advocate Usman Farooq, informed the court that an official committee had previously recommended either clearing the land of encroachers or refunding the full amounts to the legitimate allottees. However, the applicants argued that despite making complete payments, they have been deprived of their properties and left wandering since 1993 due to continuous misrepresentation by the authorities.
The case exposes a complex ownership dispute between the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and the Board of Revenue. According to the state counsel, the Board of Revenue originally leased the land to KMC in 1963 for a period of 30 years, which expired in 1993, after which the administrator controversially re-allotted the land for residential purposes. KMC representatives stated that multiple anti-encroachment operations have faced hurdles because current occupants claim to hold leases issued by the Board of Revenue, while concurrent civil lawsuits regarding land ownership remain pending before various courts. Following the conclusion of detailed arguments from all parties involved, the court reserved its final verdict.
