Karachi – July 30, 2025:
The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has kicked off a citywide operation aimed at stamping out illegal parking fee collection and addressing widespread irregularities in land allotments within the Orangi Township Project.
The move comes in the wake of Mayor Murtaza Wahab’s recent declaration that parking across Karachi is to be free of charge, a policy reinforced by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. In a show of swift enforcement, KMC has already facilitated the registration of three FIRs against individuals found collecting unauthorized parking fees.
The first case was lodged at Kharadar police station on July 10 after several complaints were received from citizens. The second FIR followed a raid by City Wardens in Bahadurabad on July 28. A day later, on July 29, another group of individuals was caught red-handed collecting illegal charges near Boat Basin, leading to yet another FIR.
Mayor Wahab has urged Karachiites to avoid paying any parking charges and immediately report such cases by calling the KMC Helpline at 1339. He has also directed the City Warden Department to step up surveillance at designated free parking spots and ensure routine patrolling to prevent further violations.
Meanwhile, KMC has opened a separate front in its battle against corruption by launching an investigation into the dubious allotment of plots in the Orangi Township Project. The inquiry—ordered by Mayor Wahab—uncovered serious irregularities in lease allocations carried out during the tenure of former Project Director Rizwan Khan.
According to findings, a single individual received 26 plots in 2019, while another 180 were handed over to members of the same family or their close associates. The current Project Director, Faisal Rizvi, has submitted a report that details more than 500 questionable allotments—320 of which were flagged during the latest phase of scrutiny. Around 80 of these cases had already been on record.
KMC has started the process of canceling these illegal leases and has forwarded the matter to the Director General of Anti-Corruption for legal proceedings.
As Karachi grapples with long-standing issues of urban mismanagement, these developments signal a rare and much-needed show of resolve by the city’s leadership. Whether this campaign yields lasting reform remains to be seen—but for now, the crackdown is underway.
