Anti-encroachment drive: Railways recovered 240 acres of land worth Rs three billion

Pakistan Railways has recovered some 240 acres worth Rs 3 billion of land under anti-encroachment drive, however, political influence, weak legislation and unavailability of heavy machinery are the major hurdles in removal of encroachment, said Arif Azeem, chairman Pakistan Railways.
Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Railways Saturday at Karachi City Station, he said most of PR land has been encroached by private sector and several "Kachi Abadis" have been set up on these lands. Recovery is too difficult and needs an alternate plan to resettle the people.
However, he admitted that PR land has been grabbed with the support of employees. "Without support of internal element encroachment on PR land is not possible," he said. The chairman informed the committee that Railways is making serious efforts to recover the grabbed land and after taking control of this land, it should be sanctioned to reputable companies on lease to earn revenue. "Law and order, political influence, limitation on legal fee, unavailability of heavy machinery and no appointment of magistrate in PR since 2000 are some of the prominent and key reasons for slow operation against encroachments," he said.
During the meeting, Aijaz Hussain Khilji, Managing Director Karachi Urban Transport Corporation gave a briefing on the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project. He said under KCR proposed plan 43.12 kilometres double track will be set up in Karachi City. Some 22.86 kms track will be elevated, 3.93 kms tunnel and 16.33 kms on the ground will be added attraction. This project will be initiated in July 2012 after signing of financial agreement and be completed in March 2017. The estimated cost of the project is $1.558 billion (Rs 128.5 billion), he said.
Under the KCR project, trains will start their journey after every six minutes and the fare will be between Rs 15 to Rs 22.5 per person, he added. This will be a state-of-the-art and most modern train with automated gates and computerised ticketing system, he added.
Giving the details of the Karachi land, the PR officials informed the Senate committee that some 941.63 acres of land has been grabbed in the Karachi Division. Among this some 2.36 acres is under the control of FWO while 939.27 acres has been encroached. During the first two months of current calendar year, PR recovered 18.35 acres land against 8.35 acres in 2011, he said.
The committee led by Senator Gull Naseeb Khan urged Pakistan Railways to make concrete efforts for recovery of land and as well as expedite KCR project. The panel said that KCR is an important project for the metropolis and will help resolve the transport problem in the city.