By Naseer Memon
(The News, Political Economy-24th March 2013)
According to newspaper reports, real estate tycoon Malik Riaz’s Bahria Town and a US investment group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for $15 to 20 billion investment on March 11. Under the project, Bahria Town, in collaboration with foreign companies associated with prominent US investor Thomas Kramer, would construct the world’s tallest building and a number of other projects some 3.5 kilometres off the Karachi shore. A spokesman for Bahria Town said the project, the Bodha Island City, would be developed within a period of five to ten years, and that it would comprise Net City, Education City, Health City, Port City and other infrastructure projects. The world’s most modern shopping mall would also be built on the Island City.According to reports, the Island City would be linked with Karachi through a six-lane bridge. Malik Riaz also approached the Sindh government for issuance of no objection certificate to commence construction work on two islands, namely Bundal and Buddo (locally called Bundaar and Dingi respectively), located near the Karachi coast. The Sindh government was under severe pressure of a highly influential personality to issue the NOC or stay silent. Port Qasim Authority (PQA), a self-proclaimed proprietor of the islands, has apparently sold these islands for the construction project of Bahria Town. This is not the first time these islands have been put on sale. Last time, it was in 2006 when former Chief Minister Sindh, Dr Arbab Rahim, attempted to sell these islands to , a Dubai-based real estate company. Emaar promised to invest $43 billion. Emaar had 85 per cent equity in the project, to build a model city in 13 years. PQA held 15 per cent stakes and was supposed to provide land for the project. The sordid deal was kept so clandestine that initially the Chief Minister of Sindh himself stated that the federal government had not taken the Sindh government in confidence on such a decision, and that his government would take up the matter with the federal government. However, the Sindh government capitulated subsequently. Civil society and environmental groups opposed the shadowy project. The scheme was later aborted without any public information.
The afore-mentioned islands are actually two ends of one long island — locally named as Dingi on the west and Bundaar on the east.
According to the “Compendum Report of High Priority Areas – Pakistan Component” developed by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the island is actually part of Bundal/Khipranwala/Muchaka Islands Complex, which is included in High Priority Areas of Pakistan by IUCN.
The island complex, spread over an area of 17,850 hectares is located at the western end of the Sindh Coastal Zone bordered by Korangi, Phitti and Jhari creeks.
Bundal Island is one of the biggest and highest of all the islands along the Sindh coast, with a length of about 8km. The width of the island varies — it is about 4km wide in the north and 1km in the south. There are shifting sand dunes on the island, some of which gain heights of up to 3m. A portion of the northern area of the island is covered at high water and has a thick growth of mangroves at the extreme northern point. The eastern coast, covered with sand dunes, is steep and easily approachable by boat.
In the south of the island, the shallow patch of drying sand has developed into a new island namely Buddo (Dingi) Island, which is the outermost island of this series.
Ownership of the islands: Ownership of the islands has remained disputed as the Sindh government claimed the area was not leased to the PQA. Even the area leased to the PQA for port related-operations does not include the islands. However, the former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz during his visit to Karachi on October 14, 2006 decreed that the land belongs to PQA.
City District Government of Karachi (CDGK) also had claim over the islands. According to a newspaper report of October 8, 2002, the CDGK and four entrepreneurs, including a firm from Thailand, signed a memorandum of understanding for establishing an IT infrastructural project. The Karachi Technology Island City proposed to be set up on a 300-acre piece of land, opposite the creek of Karachi, and was seen as a key technological infrastructure to help institutionalise and internationalise Karachi’s IT industry with the help of international donor agencies and investors.
PQA has been a major player in the race. PQA also considered the Bundal Island as one of the potential sites for setting up a terminal for Liquid Natural Gas (LNG). A consortium of leading Japanese and Korean companies expressed interest in setting up a LNG terminal at Bundal Island in response to an Expression of Interest (EOI) issued by PQA. The EOI sparked strong reaction from the Sindh government and the ownership of the area was challenged. The Port Qasim Authority also allotted 2,700 acres of land to Pakistan Navy, without any authorisation. Although Pakistan Navy later shifted the facility to Ormara for which the land was acquired yet it maintained its claim over that land. The Sindh government continued to claim the ownership of the islands. In a meeting held at Governor House, Sindh on February 23, 2006, a senior member of the Board of Revenue said that the island was a property of the government of Sindh. According to him, when PQA was established, its area of operation was defined, which does not include the Bundal Island. The provincial law department had also been of the view that the land allotted by the federal government was the property of the provincial government. Sindh High Court had also given a judgment in favour of the provincial government in a dispute with Defence Housing Authority about the latter’s claim to 250 acres of reclaimed land near the Clifton beach. The Constitution of Pakistan also supports the point of view of the Sindh Government: Article 172 (1) of the Constitution states, “Any property which has no rightful owner shall, if located in a province, vest in the Government of that Province and in every other case, in the Federal Government”.
Ecological significance of the islands: Recognising immense ecological significance of the islands IUCN included them in the list of High Priority Areas. According to the “Compendium Report of High Priority Areas – Pakistan Component” developed by IUCN, total area under mangrove cover on these islands is 10,000 ha, which represents the habitat for juvenile fish and shrimp in the area.
Bundal Island is the breeding ground of the Green Turtles. The sandy beaches of these islands are the only areas where the endangered Green Turtles visit the east coast of Karachi for breeding purposes. The ancient Ratoo Kot Fort on Muchaka Island (located closer to the two islands) can form a tourist attraction. It is part of the ancient history of Sindh and if rehabilitated could serve as an interesting historical landmark and attractive place for tourists.
Local fishing community also is also dependent on these islands for livelihood. Out of the population of 25,000 of the coastal villages, 80 per cent fish in these waters. The surrounding waters serve as feeding grounds for two varieties of dolphins (humpback and bottlenose).
The area lies along the Indus Flyway and as such serves as an important breeding and feeding ground for migratory and resident bird species.
Protection of this treasure of nature is also an obligation by virtue of “Convention on Biological Diversity” (CBD). Pakistan is among the 189 signatories of the convention and the government has also prepared an action plan to implement the convention. Any development scheme which deprives marginalised people of their livelihood resources cannot be called sustainable development. The two islands with mangrove eco-system provide rich fishing grounds for subsistence fishing in surrounding waters. A large population of Ibrahim Hyderi and other small villages of fishermen find their livelihood through shallow water fishing around these islands. Their earlier fishing grounds became inaccessible due to the “development” of DHA and various boat clubs. Now with this development hundreds of fishermen families are bound to lose the nearest source of their livelihood. About 4,000 to 5,000 fishing boats sail in the open sea through Korangi and Phitti Creeks, located on both ends of the twin islands. There mobility can be restricted in the wake of development on the islands. It is worth mentioning here that when these islands were being sold during the Musharraf’s era, the then Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, General Secretary of PPP Sindh Mr. Taj Hyder vehemently opposed the deal and termed it a conspiracy of federal government against land of Sindh government.
The writer is Chief Executive of Strengthening Participatory Organization-SPO, nmemon@spopk.org
