• Asks civic bodies to give time to ‘encroachers’ before launching operation
• Forms traffic management body to resolve issue of illegal charged parking
• Action ordered against builders dumping construction material on roads

KARACHI: Expressing extreme displeasure and concern over encroachments on public spaces under the nose of authorities concerned, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday strictly directed all civic and local bodies to play their due role to eradicate the menace that had destroyed the beauty and sanctity of the city.

He directed the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, town municipal corporation and city administration to remove encroachments from public spaces with the support of police.

However, he asked the authorities to give appropriate time to those who had encroached the public spaces before launching a vigorous operation.

The city is replete with encroachments on public spaces for the past many years and the Supreme Court and Sindh High Court have issued numerous orders asking the authorities to remove them, but to no avail as the footpaths, pavements, walkways, green belts, parks, grounds, service lanes, streets and roads remain encroached not only by common people or traders but even law enforcement agencies, government and private organisations, etc.

‘No institution has authority to allow encroachments on public spaces’

Presiding over a meeting to discuss the issue, the chief minister said that encroachments on footpaths, green belts, walkways and streets had defaced the city and caused serious issues in the flow of traffic even for the pedestrians but no authority was ready to remove them.

Mr Shah categorically said that no institution had the authority to allow encroachment on the green belts, footpaths and walkways.

“Some private offices have installed their generators on the footpath under the nose of the concerned local body and the deputy commissioner,” he said.

He directed the administration, KMC, TMCs, police and the development authorities to play their role and fulfil responsibilities.

The local government minister told the meeting that the local bodies had their anti-encroachment wings but were not as active as they should be.

It was pointed out that debris and construction materials were left on the footpaths, service roads and even the main roads.

The CM directed the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) to get an undertaking from all the builders that they would not use public spaces for dumping the construction material.

“Meanwhile, the administration would launch a drive against such government and private builders, impose heavy fines against them and seize their material,” he ordered.

The CM said that different authorities such as KMC, KDA, TMCs and others were granting road-cutting permissions and collecting charges but failed to reconstruct the roads.

He directed the chief secretary to get the charges for road cutting revised and evolve a mechanism to reconstruct the dug-up roads within three months. He said that there must be a certification procedure.

Removal of illegal charged parking ordered

The meeting observed that various illegal charged parkings had been developed on the roads which were causing serious traffic issues.

The CM directed the local government and other concerned authorities to notify the parking officially in consultation with the traffic police and remove all the unauthorised.

It was pointed out that most of the shopping plazas had their parking areas, but the builders had converted them into warehouses and rented them out.

The chief minister directed the SBCA to share the list of the shopping plazas having parking areas with the commissioner.

“The commissioner through DCs and SSPS would launch operations against them and restore their parking areas,” he said.

The CM also constituted a traffic management body under the commissioner to resolve illegal parking issues.

The meeting was attended among others by provincial ministers Nasir Shah and Saeed Ghani, Mayor Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Commissioner Hassan Naqvi, Karachi police chief Imran Yakoob, Local Government Secretary Khalid Hyder Shah, Finance Secretary Fayaz Jatoi, Transport Secretary Asad Zamin, Karachi Development Authority Director General Shujaat Hussain and all deputy commissioners.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2024