Karachi: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered the National Highway Authority (NHA) to provide comprehensive details of properties within the jurisdiction of the Karachi-Hyderabad motorway, as reported on August 8.
As per details, the directive was issued by a two-judge bench comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Amjad Ali Sahito on Wednesday. The court also instructed the NHA to clarify if any leases have been granted for filling stations, hotels, or other activities along the motorway. Additionally, the private firm SCORE, which has managed the motorway project since 2015 on a build-operate-transfer basis, was ordered to submit a statement detailing the charges and total fees earned during the last financial year from exit and entry points of various properties on the motorway.
The bench was hearing around 70 petitions, filed between 2017 and 2021, primarily related to land disputes along the motorway. These petitions include a 2017 NHA filing against the Sindh government’s decision to reduce the Right of Way (ROW) limit and nullify mutation entries, arguing that these actions were unauthorized and uncompensated.
Dozens of individuals have also approached the court, claiming ownership of the disputed land. The NHA asserts ownership of the ROW and mutations based on Sections 10 to 15 of the NHA Act of 1991, while other petitioners contend that the ROW does not apply to their land and that they comply with provisional laws. The court ordered the NHA to submit detailed property information within the Karachi-Hyderabad motorway limits and specify whether any leases have been granted to petrol stations, hotels, or other enterprises. Furthermore, the NHA was directed to provide statements regarding new motorway schemes from Jamshoro to Karachi, Multan to Sukkur Road, and Islamabad to Peshawar, including details about provided facilities and road conditions.
The SCORE director was also asked to file a statement detailing the charges levied and total fees earned from July 2023 to June 2024 related to the exit and entry points of different properties along the motorway. The hearing was adjourned until August 28.
