The citizens affected by the Lyari Expressway demolitions have not yet been provided with reasonable compensation and respectable resettlement since the forced eviction from their communities in 2002.

Recently, between February and May 2006, the city government has started a major campaign for road extensions and widening in the city. More than 3,000 houses were demolished, involving more than 23,000 displaced people. No prior notice or compensation or alternative lands were given to the inhabitants. The latest demolition was on 5 May where the City government demolished 250 houses in Sikander Goth (village) for construction of a high-rise building. A community activist was shot dead and another was seriously injured when police open fired during a peaceful demonstration.

According to the agreement between the former City Mayor of Nazim and the UN monitoring team in September 2003, the City District Government in Karachi would issue a notice 15 days before the demolition operation and provide Rs. 50,000 compensation and 80 square yard plot of land each to the displaced families. However, the present City District Government disregarded the agreement and carried out the demolition operation, uprooting almost 30-year-old settlements.

According to the source, the Karachi City Government is planning to demolish and evict inhabitants of another 6,000 housing units in 20 different informal settlements throughout the city, including in Gulberg, North Nazimabad, Saddar, Jamshed, Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Liaquatabad. When completed, the Lyari Expressway project allegedly will have rendered an estimated 250,000 people homeless.

The Special Rapporteur on adequate housing has called for immediate halt of all forced evictions and for carrying out open and genuine consultations to ensure that evictions do not result in homelessness. He urged the government to take immediate steps to comply with its human rights obligations.

Hotline Asia issued SUA020208(2) in February 2002 to express concern about the forced eviction, and to urge the authorities to provide proper rehabilitation, arrangements and compensation for resettlement of the affected communities in the Lyari area.

Source:
Urban Resource Center
Asian Coalition for Housing Rights
Local source

Since 21 January 2002, poor communities living on the banks of the Lyari Nadi River have been evicted to make way for the construction of the Lyari Expressway Project. Despite strong protest from communities, national and international organizations, as well as legal action by the displaced persons, the City government has continued the demolitions. From 21 January to 31 December 2002, over 5000 units (including 3000 commercial and 2000 Residential) were bulldozed. The communities, NGOs and citizens groups have been protesting against these illegal demolitions.

On 18 November 2002, a division bench of the Sindh High Court asked the provincial government and the city government to explain the extent of their liability in respect of the private property, including houses and residential plots, acquired for the construction of the Lyari Expressway. The bench heard 33 identical petitions against acquisition of residential plots for the expressway project. Eleven petitions were found to have occupied plots without lease from any civic agency. They had long been in possession of the property but without any legal title. The court observed that they had better accept the government's offer of an 80-square yard plot and Rs 50,000 (approx US$860) in cash in lieu of their occupancy rights, and disposed of their petitions.

On 12 December 2002, the city government resumed the demolition of houses. From 12 to 31 December the affected communities have held a number of rallies, and public meetings against the demolition of their houses.

Source:
Hotline Pakistan

After the last bulldozing of the communities to make way for the Lyari Expressway project by the government in March, a 9-member committee of experts was formed to review the project. However, even before the committee could meet, the government restarted the evictions. These were described as the most brutal bulldozing operation ever seen in the history of Karachi.

The government bulldozed over 300 housing and commercial units in Lyari River on 27, 28, 29 June and 1st July 2002. The area was surrounded by the armed forces and bulldozers were used to demolish houses.

A large number of those affected staged a sit-in protest at Shershah on 27 June, and successfully blocked the bulldozers moving towards their buildings, but some of them were arrested by the police.

Some of the protesters said that they were not given the alternate plots and asked the city government team where they should take their families if their houses were demolished. Some of them, whose residential units had been demolished in the earlier phases of the operation, said that the authorities failed to fulfil the promise of giving them alternative shelter, leaving them under the open sky. They claimed the operation was initiated on 27 June without any prior notice. No alternative plot has been given to a single affected resident so far, contrary to President Pervez Musharraf's instructions that the residents should be rehabilitated on alternative plots prior to demolition of their buildings.

Please keep posted in case further action is needed.

Source:
The News

Weeks after the resumption of the bulldozing operation which was against a court order, the Lyari Expressway project was inaugurated on 27th April 2002 by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. With the inauguration, evictions are expected to resume.

There has been no invitation to hold talks with the affected communities as promised since 20 March, nor had the government provided the details of this project. Moreover, the government did not change its inadequate resettlement policy of Rs 50,000 (US$840) and 80 square yards plot to 14,000 families.

According to the source, a new house would cost Rs. 350,000/- to 500,000/- (US $ 6,000 - 8,400) to build and 80 square yards plot will not be sufficient for the needs of affected families, as traditionally and culturally, each house is occupied by 3 or more families. Also, the government-proposed relocation sites are located far from the people's present job/work places and it would take over ten years to develop basic infrastructure (i.e water electricity, roads, sewerage, school etc) there.

Moreover, the over 3600 commercial units to be bulldozed, which are providing employment to a large number of poor families, will not get any compensation or alternative land from the government.

Meanwhile, in a civil suit filed by residents of Mianwali Colony on the Southern bank of the Lyari River, the Sindh High Court has extened its restrain order against bulldozing operation by the City government, National Highway Authority (NHA) and other defendants from taking any adverse action against the plaintiffs up to 3 May 2002.

Most city planners, Non-Government Organizations (NGO) and Community Based Organizations (CBO) are still arguing that the city does not need the Lyari Expressway. The Northern Bypass presented as an alternative of this project is now also being constructed. Both projects (the Lyari Expressway and the Northern Bypass) start at the same place and end at the same point, while serving the same purpose of facilitating port related traffic to the north of the country.

Source:
Dawn
The News

A division bench of the Sindh High Court defered the hearing of petitions to 20 March 2002, regarding the halt of bulldozing operation for the construction of Lyari Expressway.

However, in spite of court order of the status quo granted in favour of the petitioners, operation resumed on 6-8 March, and around 50 community establishments were demolished, including some residential units.

A large number of police personnel were present at the site. The task of the construction of the Rs 5 billion Lyari Expressway has been assigned to the National Highway Authority and its inauguration is likely to be held on March 23.

Please continue to write letters to urge the government not to allow anymore demolition and eviction, unless and until proper compensation and arrangements are made.

Source:
Daily The News, February and March 2002
The Daily Dawn - March 2002