Retired head of the National Accountability Office (NAB) LT Nazir Ahmed Butt revealed that fraudulent land documents for 7500 acres in Karachi led to corruption of 3 trillion rupees. The revelation was conducted during a meeting with the Society of Builders and Developers (ABAD), where he confessed to deep violations in the real estate sector.
He warned that exposing these fraudulent transactions could cause a major revolution and criticized the LDA Development Authority (LDA), the KDA development authority, and the Malir (MDA) development authority for its failure to deliver plans to customizations over the past forty years. Abad stressed that the Nab will act if it is provided with strong evidence of violations.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Abad Mohamed Hassan Khashi expressed his concern about the unrestricted illegal construction, saying that 85,000 unauthorized buildings have been established in Karachi over the past five years. He accused the Sindh government of allocating lands to choose individuals instead of conducting transparent auctions and called for the introduction of the land granting policy.
The head of NAB confirmed that the office was aware of the challenges faced by the developers and pledged to support the real estate sector while ensuring accountability. Abad urged evidence of illegal construction so that appropriate measures can be taken, either through demolition or organization.
And between NAB’s recent efforts, he stated that the office has regained 1.8 million acres of agricultural lands in the bond worth 4 trillion rupee in the past eight months and transferred it to the revenue management. He also indicated that NAB had rejected more than 21,000 complaints that were not resolved before in 2022, which simplifies its focus on important corruption.
Mr. Pot emphasized the need for a central registry system for land, noting that the various land authorities in the bond operate without coordination. He announced that the major reforms in the administration of land records were imminent and ordered the general manager of NAB to supervise the Karachi’s main plan to reduce violations in the future.
He also revealed plans to establish the NAB Regional Office in GWADAR to address corruption related to the land, as the disputed lands reach 3 trillion rupees.
ABAD Mohsin Sheikhani head of the sponsorships recommended that the ground transactions be subject to NAB and called for the third party to participate in digitizing Sindh land records to eliminate the manipulation. He expressed his concerns that the current corrupt institutions were numbering their own records, which could lead to the enabled fraudulent activities.
NAB Chairman confirmed to the builders that any NAB official found that harassment of individuals without justification will face strict measures and repeat the office’s commitment to ensure transparency in the real estate sector.
