Lyari resettlement plan faces corruption allegations

NAB has taken a step forward to investigate the corruption case involving millions of rupees in the Lyari Expressway Resettlement Project. The project has been started in order to re-settle the thousands of families affected because of the construction of the Lyari Expressway.

According to the notice issued by NAB Karachi, it is found out that, in collaboration with the officials of the Lyari Expressway Resettlement Project, the dealers of the properties illegally sold numerous plots allocated in the names of affectees to persons who were not entitled at all. It even involved the sale of plots that were reserved for welfare purpose.

In the lands allocated for resettlement of the affectees, in particular, Hawke’s Bay and Taiser Town, the dealers of the property engaged in the illegal buying and selling of the plots against the ban of the government.

During that time, different organizations formed themselves under the banner of ‘property banks’, collecting money from the public and giving them file of the plots. Among them, many were poor who had lost their lands, selling to others. As a result of delay in allocating them, they faced heavy losses.

One should remember that the expressway project had begun in the early 2000s.

It is worth noting that the Expressway project was initiated in the early 2000s to address Karachi’s growing traffic problems. For its construction, thousands of homes along the Lyari River were demolished, affecting approximately 20,000 to 25,000 families.

To rehabilitate these families, the Government of Sindh launched the Lyari Expressway Resettlement Project, under which affected families were provided 80-square-yard residential plots in suburban areas along with limited financial assistance.

Areas such as Hawke’s Bay and Taiser Town were selected for resettlement, where basic amenities were promised. However, in practice, residents faced a long-term lack of essential services such as water, electricity, sewerage, education and healthcare. As a result, many affected families were forced to sell their plots.

The largest population of affectees was settled in an area known as Musharraf Colony in Hawke’s Bay, consisting of multiple sectors across three blocks and home to thousands of residents. However, more than half of the population does not belong to the original affectees.