Naya Nazimabad

Naya Nazimabad is housing project built on the famous Manghopir Lake.[1] In 2020, some blocks of the housing project were flooded because it lacked proper sewage and water disposal lines. Residents claim that housing project management group abandoned them once the flooding began, leaving the residents to fend for the themselves during the rain and the subsequent flooding that remained for over a week.[2] Land was given initially for mining to the Javedan corporation for a mining lease only. Later, Arif Habib Ghani and Usman Aqeel Dhedi, a business cartel, bought it with the help of government authorities for a meager price and launched a housing project.

Naya Nazimabad
Naya Nazimabad
Area
 • Total500 ha (1,300 acres)
Naya Nazimabad
Location of Naya Nazimabad in Karachi

Total Area

The total area of Naya Nazimabad is 1,300 acres.[3]

Location

Distances from various areas are mentioned below:[4]

Distance Board
Sakhi Hasan 2.00 kms
Water Pump 5.00 kms
Hyderi Market 5.00 kms
NIPA Chowrangi 8.00 kms
Civic Center 11.00 kms

Prices

Naya Nazimabad was sold to general public at the rate of Rs 6,300 per yard, its worth Rs 60,000 by October 2019, resulting in net wealth generation of Rs 95 bn.[5]

Demography

Naya Nazimabad Project is towards it completion accompanied with completion of all odds which are emerging time to time.

History

The Javedan Cement Limited (JCL) was privatized and sold at very low prices of Rs. 4.3 billion ($43 million) to Haji Ghani and Shunaid Qureshi. The new owners almost immediately stopped production, dismantled the cement factory and converted the 1,300 acres JCL land into a housing project worth over Rs. 100 billion ($1 billion). Experts believe the cost of total JCL land including mining land could easily cross Rs. 200 billion ($2 billion).[6] The developers of Naya Nazimabad project includes owner of Arif Habib Equity. According to experts, the closing of Javedan Cement and establishment of Naya Nazimabad will cost Pakistan government $ 6 million annually.[7]

Land was given initially for mining to the Javedan corporation for a mining lease only. Later, Arif Habib Ghani and Usman Aqeel Dhedi, a business cartel, bought it with the help of government authorities for a meager price and launched a housing project.

Javedan Corporation Limited

Javedan Corporation Limited, a builder of Naya Nazimabad Housing Scheme, owned 928 acres 99-year leasehold land allotted in 1960/61; 310 acres freehold land, and 128 acres leasehold land allotted in 2011.[8]

Equity Injection

Arif Habib proposed fresh investment of Rs 750 million into Naya Nazimabad.[9]

Chemical Dump

A case was filed in the Sindh High Court (SHC) against the Naya Nazimabad residential scheme near Manghopir that has allegedly been launched despite a report claiming that the area has been used dumping ground for dangerous chemicals. These toxic Chemicals are hazardous substances which could harm human health and/or the environment.[10] A study commissioned on the directives of the Supreme Court of Pakistan has found that the populations residing in Gadap Town and nearby areas such as Naya Nazimabad are prone to cancer-like diseases through Asbestos, a chemical can affect the population in neighborhood as it is air-borne.[11][12][13]

There has been a cover-up to downplay the contamination of Naya Nazimabad in Pakistan's media. Shunaid Qureshi, developer of Naya Nazimabad, CEO Al Abbas Sugar Mills and former Chairman of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PASMA) was arrested in January 2014.[14] Shunaid Qureshi is a son of Hum TV director Sultana Siddiqui, nephew of businessman Jahangir Siddiqui, brother-in-law of Television producer Momina Duraid and the cousin of actor Sheheryar Munawar Siddiqui. Jahangir Siddiqui son Ali Raza is married to the daughter of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, owner of Jang Group of Newspapers.[15]

Flooding in August 2020

The site for the development was acquired for a cement factory by Arif Habib Corporation through their Javedan Corporation. It is located in the Manghopir neighborhood of Karachi. The site was later repurposed for the housing development by draining part of the Manghopir Lake. In the 2020 flooding of Karachi due to heavy rainfall in the monsoon season, the lake refilled and most of the houses were flooded and had to be evacuated by the Pakistan Army. There is extensive video evidence from news channels and several reports. Samaa TV documented[16] the plight of several residents. It was also covered[17] by the publication Dawn (newspaper). There is a video of Mohammad Jibran Nasir on facebook alleging that Arif Habib Corporation were blocking authorities and media from entering the area citing devaluation in property prices from negative exposure of the area. Another Samaa TV article[18] found satellite imagery of the site confirming there was a water body there from 2006 to 2015. In the same article, it is alleged that the owners of the project rejected concerns about flooding and advice to build on the banks and went ahead on the site of the drained lake.

In 2020, the some part of housing scheme was flooded because of wall broken by residents of nearby areas. Residents claim that housing project management group should compensate them, now management compensate residents by cleaning their house and by renovation of the house.

See also

References
  1. "Karachi rains: Scores displaced from Naya Nazimabad". The Express Tribune. 2020-09-05. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  2. Jajja, Sumaira (2020-09-08). "Changes in Sindh LG law demanded to make KMC city's chief civic authority". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  3. Profit (2020-09-05). "Arif Habib to pump in additional Rs750 million into Naya Nazimabad". Profit by Pakistan Today. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
  4. "Where we are – Naya Nazimabad". Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  5. Alam, Kazim (2019-10-21). "A seller of optimism". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  6. Mining leases, polluted land converted into housing society
  7. Naya Nazimabad project to cost nation $6m annually
  8. Desk, News. "Javedan Corporation refutes all allegations on Naya Nazimabad Housing Scheme". Mettis Global News. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  9. Profit (2020-09-05). "Arif Habib to pump in additional Rs750 million into Naya Nazimabad". Profit by Pakistan Today. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
  10. Naya Nazimabad: Construction continues despite ‘dangerous’ report
  11. Two million Karachiites face cancer threat
  12. Mining leases, polluted land converted into housing society
  13. Naya Nazimabad: Construction continues despite ‘dangerous’ report
  14. Court orders arrest of Shunaid Qureshi Archived 2014-08-08 at the Wayback Machine
  15. "The illegal activities of Jang Group and Jahangir Siddiqui". Charity-charities.org. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  16. Naya Nazimabad residents tell stories of destruction after Karachi rain
  17. Parts of Karachi remain submerged, without electricity more than 72 hours after record rains
  18. Why did Karachi’s Naya Nazimabad sink?

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