JI challenges construction along Karachi’s Nehr-e-Khayyam in SHC

KARACHI: The 'controversial' construction work being carried out along Nehr-e-Khayyam in Karachi’s Clifton area has been challenged in the Sindh High Court by Jamaat-e-Islami.

The constitutional petition has been filed by the Leader of the Opposition in Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), along with other petitioners, making the Local Government Department, KMC, Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and other relevant authorities respondents in the case.

The petition maintains that the original flow, width and boundaries of Nehr-e-Khayyam are being altered through the ongoing construction work. It further alleges that construction activities were initiated without conducting the mandatory environmental assessment.

According to the petition, the authorities have failed to provide the project's approved PC-I document and environmental impact assessment report. It also alleges that commercial activities are being introduced along the stormwater drain.

The petitioners have warned that narrowing the drain could increase the risk of urban flooding in nearby residential areas during the monsoon season, as rainwater may overflow into surrounding neighbourhoods.

The petition has urged the court to order the demolition of illegal constructions and structures along Nehr-e-Khayyam, halt unauthorised commercial activities and restore the stormwater drain to its original condition.

It further states that no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or approved construction plan has been presented for the project.

The petitioners have also argued that reducing the drain's width in violation of the approved 1982 master plan is unlawful and could obstruct the natural flow of rainwater, posing a flooding risk to nearby residential areas.