Islamabad: About 10,000 illegal houses constructed on 26 acres of Karachi Circular Railway land will be cleared around the 27-kilometre track on the orders of the Supreme Court, a news source reported. The Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has hinted at the possibility that some of the encroached land may be leased at market rates.
It will only be done for the land that Railways does not need and those who are unwilling to pay lease amount will be made to vacate and the ministry will not be responsible for the losses.
The minister also said that railways might compensate people affected by the drive but only if the funds are available. He also said that he was working on a solution for the problem and that the government might build residential quarters for the people who would be forced to vacate their properties.
