The judicial commission probing the deadly fire at the Gul Plaza has directed Board of Revenue (BoR) Senior Member Khalid Hyder Shah to submit details with regard to the Gul Plaza land ownership.
The commission headed by Justice Agha Faisal had earlier directed the BoR senior member to submit revenue record of the Gul Plaza. The commission directed the BoR to submit purpose of land allocation at the time of its transfer to the Karachi municipality in 1873, and subsequently to the Tramway/East India company in 1884.
The commission inquired as to whether the agreement executed between Karachi Municipality and Tramway/East India Company was available on record and how it was treated under Government of India Act 1933
The commission also inquired what the BoR’s understanding of the provincial government’s proprietary rights in respect of the land was as opposed to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s asserted rights as lease-granting authority.
The commission asked the BoR to reply on whether it issued any notification, gazette entries or order confirming or contesting the KMC’s proprietary claim over the land. The BoR was asked to clarify as to whether the land presently recognised as the provincial government’s property was held in trust by the KMC or as a municipal property independently owned by the KMC.
The commission questioned how such grants were treated under the Bombay Land Revenue Code 1879, the government of India Act, 1933, and subsequently the Sindh Land Revenue Act 1967.
The commission asked whether the BoR ever conducted a compliance audit or review of the Gul Plaza’s audit use vis-à-vis the original grant conditions and called the record if the BoR had performed such tasks.
