KMC Landhi Cottage Industries scheme: Traders apprise local govt minister about ‘painful’ delay

KARACHI: A delegation of trade leaders met with Sindh Minister for Local Government Syed Nasir Hussain Shah at the Chief Minister’s House to highlight the prolonged and distressing delay in the settlement of the KMC Landhi Cottage Industries scheme.

Mehmood Hamid, President of the All Pakistan Organization of Small Traders Karachi and Chairman of the Landhi Cottage Industries Action Committee, briefed the minister during the meeting the other day on the scheme’s troubled history.

He stated that the project was launched in 1992 under the Benazir Employment Program. Through a draw, 2,334 allottees were declared successful and issued formal allotment orders. However, traders said, 33 years have passed and these individuals have yet to receive physical possession of their plots despite having paid millions of rupees to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation.

The traders further informed the minister that land mafia elements are actively attempting to encroach upon the designated land. Mehmood Hamid also apprised the minister of the legal proceedings, noting that Justice Salahuddin Panhwar of the Sindh High Court had directed the Senior Member of the Board of Revenue to conduct a land survey and submit a report. The traders expressed frustration that the Board of Revenue has failed to present this survey report for the last 17 months.

Following the detailed briefing by the traders, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah addressed the concerns, describing the situation as “highly alarming and extremely regrettable.”

“All obstacles in the settlement of KMC Landhi Cottage Industries will be removed,” the Local Government Minister said. “At a time when unemployment in the country has reached a terrifying level, the establishment of cottage industries is essential for its eradication.”

The minister expressed deep dismay over the decades-long wait endured by the allottees. “It is extremely unfortunate that despite paying crores of rupees to the KMC, the allottees have been deprived of their plots for 33 years,” Shah stated.

He assured the delegation of his personal intervention and immediate action. “I will take swift measures for the settlement of Landhi Cottage Industries,” the minister said. He invited the Chairman of the Action Committee to visit his office with complete records, adding, “Inshallah, I will ensure that the affected individuals receive their rights at the earliest.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026