The son of one of the key activists behind the movement to oppose the Lyari Expressway has been brutally tortured and murdered in Karach
Karachi Pakistan 25 November 2004
Son of Anti-Lyari Expressway Murdered
Baseer Navaid is a well-known journalist and a social and political activist of Karachi. He is also the convenor of the Action Committee for Civic Problems. He has been the main organiser of the movement against the Lyari Expressway. The Expressway is a US$ 1.5 billion road being built on either side of the Lyari River in Karachi. Opposition to the Expressway has been strong and has come from professionals, academia, media and the Lyari Corridor communities for urban planning and humanitarian reasons. The Expressway is displacing 25,400 families many of whom are living in settlements that are more than 100 years old; demolishing about 5,000 commercial and manufacturing units; and destroying 58 mosques, churches, graveyards and temples. Due to the dislocation caused by the Expressway the schooling of 26,000 students will be discontinued and about 40,000 wage owners will loose their jobs. Opposition to the Expressway has delayed the implementation of the Project.
Like other anti-Expressway activists, Baseer Navaid had received death threats if he did not stop his opposition. He did not take these threats seriously. But on November 10, 2004 the badly tortured dead body of his son Faraz Ahmed was found in an empty plot behind Baseer Navaid's office. Faraz was a 22 years old philosophy student at the University of Karachi.
NGO activists and the representatives of the Lyari communities are convinced that Baseer has been punished by the promoters and/or the beneficiaries of the Lyari Expressway. At a meeting held on 23 November 2004 at the offices of the Human Rights Commission for Pakistan, civil society organisations have demanded that an inquiry regarding the death of Faraz should be conducted by a judge of the Sindh High Courts as so far no inquiry has been initiated although the crime has been registered by Baseer Navaid at the local police station.
After Faraz's murder his parents have received more threats over the telephone. Mrs. Baseer Navaid now wishes to leave Pakistan with her two surviving children as she is afraid that they too might be murdered. The anti-Expressway activists living in the older regularised settlements are also terrorised but have decided to continue their struggle for saving their settlements.
Lyari
Expressway Update OCTOBER
15
Sindh High Court (SHC) orders government to redesign Lyari Expressway
KARACHI:
The High Court of Sindh (SHC) on Tuesday 14th October 2003 directed
the National Highway Authority (NHA), government of Sindh, and the
City District Government of Karachi (CDGK) to review the design of the
16.5 kilometre long Lyari Expressway so as to minimise number of
people to be affected by this project.
A bench comprising Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Ali Aslam
Jaferi passed this order while disposing of a number of identical
petitions filed by more than 300 affectees of LEW. The writ
jurisdiction of the court was originally invoked by more than 700
affectees through about 21 petitions but ten of them were rejected on
the grounds the petitioners, more than 250 in number, had no valid
lease documents. The bench had observed that these petitioners would
be at liberty to accept the package announced by the City Government,
Karachi City District, for the rehabilitation of the affectees of this
mega-project.
The government had raised objections on the maintainability of
the pleas of remaining petitioners, who held lease documents, on the
grounds that no lease could be granted in the bed or on the bank of
any river as per the law. These leases were granted illegally by some
corrupt officials of the defunct KMC against whom legal action had
been initiated.
The bench, however, overruled this objection of the respondents and
held that holders of these leases were entitled to the price of the
land at market rates and in accordance with law.
The court directed the respondent to resolve the dispute with
individual petitioners who had raised construction as per approved
plans or alternatively pay them prices of their lands as per market
rates of the area where the properties to be acquired are located.
The bench observed that a large number of petitioners had already
accepted the package offered by the government and vacated their
properties and further delay in completion of this vital project would
not only increase the burden on the national exchequer but also add to
the inconvenience of the public at large.
The court held in its 41-page judgment that the petitioners were
entitled to compensation only in respect of the land leased out to
them and not on the structures raised over them.
During pendency of these petitions, the government had offered a
package to these petitioners. The package said the petitioners who
were in possession of genuine leases would be given compensation as
per the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act i.e. according to the
market rates of the property. It further said that if the payment made
by a lessee against the land in his possession was in access to
Rs50,000, the total amount paid by him would be refunded along with an
80 square yards plot.
In the case of multi-storey buildings, each floor would be taken
to be individual family unit entitled to receive the same compensation
of Rs50,000 plus an 80 square yards plot. However, compensation on
multi-storey buildings would be paid on floor basis and to the
physical occupants. However, majority of the petitioners had rejected
the package after which the court had reserved its judgment which was
announced on Tuesday. The bench observed that the project was of
national importance which was being constructed in the public interest
for which private property could always be acquired under the law. The
lands in questions, it is worth mentioning, are located in PIB Colony,
Liaquatabad, Old Sabzi Mandi, Sohrab Goth, Gulshan-e-Iqbal etc.
Advocates Fazal-e-Ghani, Showkat Shaikh, Muhammad Jameel, Ghulam
Kadir Jatoi, M Ilyas Khan, Attaullah Khan, and others appeared on
behalf of the petitioners. Former Advocate-General (AG), Sindh, Raja
Qureshi, Additional AG Sulemen Habibullah, and present AG, Sindh
Mansoor Khan, represented the Sindh Government; Syed Jameel Ahmed
represented the KDA; Shahid Jameel represented the KBCA and while
Manzoor Khan advocate represented the City Government.
(The News, 15/10/03 page 3)
----------------
August 2003
Corruption
in Lyari Expressway and other projects
A
vigilance cell has reported massive malpractice, embezzlements in the
NHA, especially in the award of contract of mega highway projects,
like the Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway Project (M-1), Pindi
Bhattian-Faisalabad M(otorway Project (M-3), Karachi Northern Bypass
and the Lyari Expressway Project.
See details below. ....
Corruption
in National Highway Authority (NHA) detected
Reporter
- Daily
Dawn 29 July 2003
ISLAMABAD,
July 28: Massive corruption and mismanagement has been detected in the
National Highways Authority (NHA), especially in awarding contracts in
mega projects, says a report.
A
vigilance cell set up to detect corruption in the ministry of
communications and its attached departments has come out with a
detailed report on mismanagement, embezzlements and misappropriation
of funds in the National Highway Authority, an announcement by the
ministry said on Sunday.
The
report has been presented to the Federal Minister for Communications,
Ahmad Ali, by the director-general vigilance Brig Zafar Alam Malik and
director vigilance (NHA) Col Misbahur Rehman Khan.
"The
minister is faced with a major dilemma as how to control the unbridled
NHA. At present, he is considering ways to initiate necessary action
for an operation cleanup in the department," the announcement
added.
The
vigilance cell has reported massive malpractice, embezzlements in the
NHA, especially in the award of contract of mega highway projects,
like the Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway Project (M-1), Pindi
Bhattian-Faisalabad Motorway Project (M-3), Karachi Northern Bypass
and the Lyari Expressway Project.
The
NHA gave the contractor of M-3 Rs2 billion worth of machinery in the
absence of any NHA responsible officer at the site which was later
showed as equivalent to Rs1 billion.
Still
later, the same contractor sought a concession of Rs300 million,
claiming that the machinery required expensive repairs while in the
meantime the machinery was rented out to other private contractors for
construction purposes.
The
Rs7.5 billion M-3 project, including machinery of worth Rs2 billion,
was supposed to be completed in one-and-a-half years.
The
project, which was awarded to the contractor to be completed on a
build operate and transfer (BOT) basis, was converted to a
government-funded public development programme due to certain do
ubtful negotiations when the contractor defaulted.
The
contractor even did not share the revenue generated from the service
road of M-3 while under the agreement with the NHA he was bound to do
so. Later, the present NHA management on a single bid basis awarded
the contract to the same contractor. The project was being executed by
the contractor without any proper qualified manpower - civil engineers
- in violation of standing operating procedures. When the project
director, Salim Mubashir, on deputation from Nespak, objected and took
a stand on the wrongdoings, he was sent back.
The
contract of M-1 was given to a favourite contractor on a single bid
basis at a Rs12.5 billion bid. Interestingly, the NHA management
signed a memorandum of understanding with the contractor. When
President Pervez Musharraf objected to the matter, the cost of the
project was reduced to Rs11.5 billion, but even then the NHA
management retained the same contractor.
After
terminatio n of the Turkish firm, Bayinder Construction's contract,
the NHA management projected a cost of Rs8 billion for the completion
of the remaining M-1 project. Despite the huge cost of Rs11.5 billion,
the NHA was likely to sign another contract for the construction of a
bridge over the Indus on M-1 in Attock since the present contractor
lacked the technical know-how to construct the bridge.
In
disregard to the finance ministry directives, the NHA accepted
insurance guarantees of the contractor for the mega projects, while
the government rules stated that no mega project could be awarded to a
contractor without bank guarantees. The directive was issued after
Bayinder, a contractor of M-1, abandoned the project and the
government incurred a loss of Rs12 billion.
It
is important to mention that the NHA management spent around Rs20
billion on M-1, yet there is no proper system of checks and balances
in the organization.
Earlier,
the Rs375 million Lahore-Okara bypass project, carrying a number of
frauds, embezzlements, money-oriented games, was awarded to PUT
Saragevo Company by the NHA without any tendering procedures.
The
total cost of the Lyari Expressway project is Rs5081 million,
including a provision of Rs2273 million for the reinforced earth which
constitutes 44.74 per cent of the total project. The unit cost of the
project worked out to be Rs308 million per km, which is even on the
higher side, considering that even the cost of the entire length of
350km was less than Rs110 million per km.
The
purpose of the reinforced earth-filling, which is 5 meters to 11
meters, is stated to be aimed at providing protection to the road
against possible floods. The basis for adoption of 5 to 11 meters high
embankment gave a rise to question the credibility of the NHA
management, because keeping the elevation of the highest flood level
and that of the road surface was nrealistic/unreasonable for making
such a high embankment.
Daily
Dawn 29 July 2003
5 March 2003
Lyari
Expressway be expedited: PM
By
Staff Reporter from the Dawn Newspaper Karachi Pakistan
ISLAMABAD,
March 4: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has directed the
federal and provincial authorities of Sindh to remove snags in the
Lyari Expressway Project at Karachi, to be completed in June 2004.
Official sources told Dawn here on Tuesday that the prime
minister directed the officials concerned to make sure that the Rs5
billion Lyari project was not delayed due to various problems.
One of the major problems was said to be a row over
resettlement of displaced persons. The Planning Commission was asked
to coordinate with the ministry of finance and the chief minister of
Sindh to get the Lyari project completed on time.
However, the sources said the project was not likely to be
completed by June next year even though Rs455 million, out of the
allocated Rs900 million in the current financial years's Public Sector
Development Programme (PSDP), had been spent during the first quarter,
which constituted 50 per cent of the money set aside.
According to the planning Commission, the National Highway
Authority (NHA) has not provided the report on physical progress so
far achieved towards completion of the vital project.
The project envisages construction of a 16.5km, two-lane
expressway with allied structures.
The Planning Commission has formulated a status of a number of
infrastructure projects approved earlier by the
government.
About the Karachi Northern Bypass Project, it said that as far
as physical progress was concerned, only 1.3km of
earthwork had been completed. The completion of the project was
due in June 2004. The project aims to construct 62.137km, two-lane
bypass road with allied structures. The estimated cost of the project
is Rs2.6 billion with no foreign exchange component.
The Planning Commission also said that the expenditure incurred
on the Kohat Tunnel and Access Road project up to June 2002 was Rs3.9
billion which was 59 per cent of the total allocation. As against the
allocation of Rs1.6
billion in the PSDP 2002-03, Rs125 million have been utilized
during the first quarter of the year, which is 8 per cent of the
allocation.
The progress on the projects is according to the schedule.
About
the Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway, the Planning Commission said the NHA
was facing a problem in the encashment of a Rs16.8 billion bank
guarantee paid as advance to the contractors.
Daily Dawn 5/3/03
For
earlier up dates to 13
December 2002
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