The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has launched a citywide operation to eliminate illegal parking fee collection, while also initiating the cancellation of plots found to have been illegally leased in the Orangi Township Project.
Following the announcement of free parking across the city by Mayor Murtaza Wahab, and subsequent directives from Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, KMC launched a crackdown against illegal parking fee collection. Since the launch of the initiative, three FIRs have been registered in connection with the illegal fee collection, including at Kharadar police station on July 10, following citizen complaints; at Bahadurabad police station on July 28, after a raid by the City Wardens; and at Boat Basin police station on July 29 when culprits were caught red-handed.
Wahab has urged citizens not to pay parking charges and to report such incidents to KMC Helpline 1339. He has also directed the City Warden Department to deploy teams at designated free parking locations, and to conduct regular patrolling to ensure compliance.
Separately, KMC has initiated the cancellation of over 320 illegally leased plots in the Orangi Township Project, after an internal investigation was ordered by the mayor.
The inquiry revealed that during the tenure of then Project Director Rizwan Khan, a number of plots were leased without due process. In 2019, 26 plots were allotted to a single individual, while 180 others were issued to members of the same family and close associates. Current Project Director Faisal Rizvi also submitted a report identifying over 500 irregular allotments in total, including 80 previously identified and 320 discovered in the latest phase.
The cancellation process has begun, with related cases forwarded to the director general anti-corruption for legal action.
