The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) has been questioned by the Public Account Committee (PAC) for allotting government-owned land to the Defense Housing Authority (DHA), United Workers Front, and KPT officers to the National Accountability Bureau at dirt-cheap rates.
A meeting was held in this regard under the chairmanship of Noor Alam Khan in which it was disclosed that during the past 16 years, the act caused a loss of more than Rs. 104 billion (Rs 8 billion per year).
881 acres of KPT land in the Keamari Town Ship and Keamari Village Area of Karachi were given to the Defense Housing Authority in 2005 on a 99-year lease at a rate of 18 paisa per square meter per year, according to PAC officials who testified before the committee.
Additionally, in 2006, M/s United Workers Front of KPT Housing Society leased KPT land in Hawksbay for 99 years at a rate of 10 paisa per square meter per year.
Moreover, KPT Officers Cooperative Housing Society Limited received a 99-year lease on 130 acres of KPT land at MT Khan Road for 10 paisa per square meter each year.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has sent the matter of allotment of these lands at dirt-cheap rates to the National Accountability Bureau, seeking a report from it within a month.
A committee member, Nuzhat Pathan, stated that the allotted land was the property of the Sindh Government which was given for business purposes.
The concerned authorities shared that the KPT was directed several times to investigate the case but no action was taken by the officials.
