ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court will take up on Wednesday the implementation of the March 21, 2019 approval of Rs460 billion offer by the Bahria Town (Pvt) Ltd Karachi (BTK) after a delay of a little over 28 months.

Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, a three-judge SC bench also comprising Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Athar Minallah will take up a set of seven petitions in the BTK case.

The last time the apex court had taken up the case was on May 21, 2021, when the bench was told that the Naya Pakistan Housing Development Autho­rity intends to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bahria Town Pakistan for building low-cost houses in Islamabad and Karachi.

The information was provided before the implementation bench which was seized with the payment schedule by the developer tycoon for acquiring the land in Malir (Sindh.)

Three-judge bench to hear pleas on implementation of March 2019 order

Earlier, the implementation bench of the Supreme Court had accepted the offer made by the developer to pay Rs460 billion on March 21, 2019, for the purchase of the land measuring 16,896 acres in the Malir Development Authority (MDA) but with certain terms and conditions.

The offer was accepted by the court to implement apex court’s May 4, 2018, judgment in which it was held that the grant of land to the Malir Development Authority (MDA) by the Sindh government, its exchange with the land of the private land developers — Bahria Town — and anything done under the provisions of Colonisation of Government Land Act, 1912, (COGLA) by the Sindh government was illegal and of no legal existence.

The land was granted for launching incremental housing scheme, but instead of launching the scheme, the MDA exchanged it with Bahria Town to launch a scheme of its own, the judgment had regretted.

Earlier on Dec 16, 2020, the apex court had rejected a plea to grant moratorium of three years to BTK in the monthly instalment of Rs2.5 billion because of Covid-19 pandemic-related economic recession.

The BTK had sought freezing of the payment plan from the Supreme Court in view of Covid pandemic-related recession, with the effect that the payment of Rs2.5 billion monthly instalments be deferred for three years starting from Sept 7, 2020, until Sept 2023.

Likewise, in Oct 20, 2020, the Supreme Court had appointed a high-powered commission to oversee the disbursement of funds being deposited by the BTK.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2023