Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation: SHC dismisses plea to delink housing scheme from sell-off process

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday dismissed the plea to delink the launching of Gulshan-e-Hadeed Housing Scheme Phase-IV from the privatization process of the Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC).

A division bench of the SHC, comprising Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon, gave this verdict in the petition, seeking suspension of the letter dated 16.02.2015 issued by the Privatization Commission whereby the Commission took back the decision of launching of Gulshan-e-Hadeed Housing Scheme Phase-IV until the privatization of the PSMC.

According to the written order of the bench, the petitioners sought revival of the Gulshan-e-Hadeed Housing Scheme Phase-IV, which was halted in 2015 due to the privatization of the Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC).

According to the petitioner, the PSMC had started the Gulshan-e-Hadeed Housing Scheme with the approval of the Ministry of Production, its board of directors and in agreement with the CBA in the year 1983 and launched Phase-I to Phase-III, and later on, the master plan of Phase-IV was approved, and despite its approval from the competent authority as well as the Malir Development Authority (MDA), this project could not be launched/finalized.

The petitioners emphasized that in the current bad financial condition of the PSMC, they have grave apprehension that the respondents may abandon the said housing scheme i.e. Phase-IV, and deprive the respective allottees of their respective plots and prayed for suspension of the letter dated 16.02.2015 issued by the Privatization Commission whereby the Commission took back the decision of launching of Gulshan-e-Hadeed Housing Scheme Phase-IV until the privatization of the PSMC.

The court inquired from the petitioners as to how they are entitled to claim such allotment in the Gulshan-e-Hadeed Housing Scheme as prima facie they have failed to attach any document with the memo of the petitioner to substantiate their claim about their respective allotment of plots or execution of Gulshan-e-Hadeed Housing Scheme Phase-IV.

Petitioner No.2 who is present in person has reiterated his submissions and submitted that the PSMC has a running policy to provide land for housing to its employees.

The court observed that prima facie, the launching of Gulshan-e-Hadeed Housing Scheme Phase-IV was a policy decision which has already been taken care of by the Secretary of Ministry of Industries and Production, Government of Pakistan, whereby the request of PSMC was declined for delinking of the launching of Gulshan-e-Hadeed Housing Scheme from the privatization process vide letter dated 13.04.2015.

Besides, the court noted that the subject matter in these proceedings is a policy matter and the Privatization Commission has already taken back the decision vide letter dated 16.02.2015 for the launching of aforesaid society till the privatization of the PSMC which is the policy decision.

“In the given circumstances of the case, we are not inclined to interfere in the policy decision under its constitutional jurisdiction,” the bench ruled.

The court didn’t agree with the submission of the petitioners because no right of the petitioners has been established; and, prima-facie declared that under the garb of this petition they have attempted to bypass the process initiated by the respondents.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021