The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has arrested the owner of Theme Park, an illegal housing scheme developed on the riverbed of the Ravi. The scheme was completely inundated when the river flooded last week.
An ACE spokesperson said on Wednesday that Khushi Muhammad, the scheme’s owner, had built the project on 12,000 kanals of river land. He allegedly sold residential plots to citizens through fraudulent practices.
The spokesperson said the society was not developed in line with legal requirements and did not even have a sewage system. Because it was located entirely within the riverbed, the houses in the scheme were submerged during the flooding.
The spokesperson added that Theme Park was never approved by the relevant authorities. He said the ACE has also sought records of other housing schemes established on the Ravi riverbed from the Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA) and the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) so that legal action can be taken.
He noted that housing construction on river land cannot be permitted, and action will also be taken against existing illegal projects.
A source stated that Khushi Muhammad was formerly a police constable before initiating the Theme Park project on a small piece of land. Over time, he expanded it by exploiting loopholes and securing land in the riverbed. The source said he transferred billions of rupees abroad.
In most cases, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) takes action against fraudulent housing schemes. In this case, however, ACE intervened first.
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