ISLAMABAD A petition against alleged joint adventure of land mafia and the City District Government of Karachi due to which the grabbers succeeded to occupy public land, places and points like public parks and play grounds illegally, has been filed in the Supreme Court under the Article 184/3 of the Constitution here on Wednesday. In the petition, former city district Nazim, Nahmatullah Khan stated that one of the biggest cause behind the deteriorating law and order situation in the Karachi was illegal possession of the public land by the land grabbers and mafia. The petition raised several questions regarding this alleged illegal occupation of the public land, places and points like public parks and play grounds, stating, Whether the Local Government is vested with any power, authority or jurisdiction to convert the public land and amenity plots into residential or commercial estate, to allot the same to any person(s) and to give sanctions, approval or authorisation of the construction over the same? Whether any political party, group or coalition is or not entitled to establish its party offices/camp offices over the land reserved for the public use and amenity purposes. Whether the taking over, occupation, encroachment or usurpation of any land by any political party, ethnic, sectarian or religious group or any other organisation does not come within the ambit of land grabbing, rendering them to penal consequences under the governing laws, it further questioned. It stated that the city of Karachi besides being one of the largest cities of the world with a population of more than fifteen millions is a commercial hub and revenue-generating unit of the country. The increase in population has also resulted into the expansion of the city, it maintained. This yield of economic activity and expansion of city has raised the value of land of the city to unprecedented heights. Besides the immense commercial, economic and business significance, the public places of the city have also a great social, cultural and political importance, which led to the phenomena of grabbing, encroachment and occupation of land by the land mafia, the petition said. The petition stated that the public land, places and points, which came in the clutches of these hawks, as mentioned in the petition are more then 128 places located in the District East including Shah Faisal Town, Gulshan-E-Iqbal Town, Gadap Town, Jamshed Town, Malir Town and in the District Central, Site Town and Orangi Town. The list also includes land and places located in Kimari. As per the list, as many as 35 such places, parks and amenity plots were occupied where residential/commercial plotting has been done in last four years including North Nazimabad Town, Baldia Town, Site Town Orangi Town New Karachi Town, Gulberg Town, Gadap Town. Shaukat Aziz Siddique, a senior advocate of the SC, prayed in the petition that the occupation, possession or control of any person(s) over the said public land and amenity plots and any construction, structure or installation over the same is illegal, unlawful, an infringement of the fundamental rights of the citizens. Therefore, illegal occupation of such places must be reversed to its original position, he added.