Karachi: Leader of the Opposition in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Council Saifuddin Advocate has strongly opposed what he described as the 'illegal transfer' of the civic body's valuable properties to various institutions and private parties under the guise of public-private partnerships.Addressing a press conference at the opposition leader's office ahead of the KMC City Council meeting on Sept 11, Saifuddin said the agenda contained several proposals concerning KMC properties that raised serious concerns.He demanded that all matters relating to KMC properties on the agenda be discussed transparently, legal requirements be fulfilled, and the process of changing the commercial status of valuable public land and its allotment be thoroughly investigated.Saifuddin questioned the KMC's claim that it lacked funds to clean storm-water drains and address basic civic problems while, according to him, around 22 lawyers were being paid millions of rupees every month. He said that some lawyers were receiving monthly fees of Rs400,000, Rs300,000 and Rs180,000, with total annual expenditure on legal fees reportedly amounting to around Rs70 million.He questioned the criteria for their appointments and asked whether advertisements had been published for the posts when the KMC already had its own legal department.He highlighted irregularities in development schemes, fraud in contracts and the transfer of valuable KMC properties to different individuals and organisations.He said several schemes announced under the Annual Development Programme were either never started or left incomplete. In some cases, he added, contractors disappeared after receiving payments.He also questioned allocations made for various commemorative days, saying there was little clarity about where and how the funds were spent.He said work on a 98-kilometre water-supply project was reportedly progressing at a very slow pace, with only around 2.5km completed so far.He also criticised delays in the K-IV water project, saying it had remained incomplete despite being taken up by the federal government after what he described as the failure of the Sindh government.He said the city's sanitation situation under the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board also remained poor, with garbage accumulating in several areas.He also raised questions over the conditions at the Abbasi hospital and the KMC's MRI machine, saying the issue remained unresolved despite claims of substantial expenditure.Further talking about handing over public assets to private parties, he said the situation had reached a point where KMC-run institutions and properties were being handed over to different organisations in the name of public-private partnerships.Referring to the nursing college at the Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases, he said that its building had been handed over to an organisation under an agreement for a monthly rent of only Rs250,000.He claimed the agreement also allowed commercial use of the building and installation of advertising boards.H e said a similar proposal had emerged concerning the nursing college at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, while there was also a proposal to hand over Spencer Hospital to an organisation and provide Rs36 million for its development.'If the mayor and KMC cannot run their hospitals, nursing colleges and other institutions themselves, then what is the mayor there for?' he asked.He said public-private partnership could not be used as a 'beautiful name' for distributing public institutions and buildings.He also criticised the handing over of KMC parks to different individuals and organisations, alleging that portions of several major parks had been carved out for commercial activities, including the establishment of padel courts.He said the process of changing the commercial status of three valuable KMC plots, including two 2,000-square-yard properties in Clifton, had also been initiated.He said that the law prescribed a procedure involving newspaper advertisements, hearing of objections at the relevant union com mittee and approval by the concerned council, but said that these requirements had been bypassed.He also referred to a 2,000-square-yard plot in the Sabzi Mandi area, saying that its commercial status was being changed without approval from the City Council, publication of an appropriate newspaper advertisement or a hearing of objections at the union council level.Instead, he said, the matter had been sent directly to the master plan authority for approval.'Public-private partnership does not mean handing over public land and valuable properties to favoured individuals,' he said. 'KMC properties belong to the people and must remain with the KMC so that they can be used in the public interest.'Saifuddin also objected to a proposal to allot 9,331 square yards in Baldia Town to an organisation called Peoples Valley for a community centre.He said the city lacked land for hospitals, schools and fire stations, making it difficult to justify handing over thousands of square yards to a private organisation.Referring to 4,444 square yards earmarked for a fire station, he questioned the authority under which the land could be leased again if the KMC had previously leased it and later retrieved it. He also asked what action had been taken against those responsible for the earlier lease.He expressed concern over proposals involving a 3,700-square-yard post office plot in Orangi Town, a 3,125-square-yard plot in Gulistan-i-Mazdoor, a six-acre plot in Baldia Town proposed for a bus terminal to a private company, and several plots in Orangi Town that he alleged had been illegally allotted.He also raised questions about the construction and leasing of shops along the road near the Lighthouse drain, the handing over of the plastic market in Bolton Market to a private contractor and the construction of shops along emergency and other access routes.According to him, rents charged to traders in the plastic market had also been increased. He said that in several cases there had been no proper newspaper advertisements, invitations for public offers or formal approval by the City Council.'At times, a letter from an individual or organisation is received and immediately placed on the agenda, while in some cases the property is handed over even before the matter is brought to the council for approval,' he said.He called for immediate action against encroachments on citizens' properties as well as the alleged distribution of KMC land.'We demand that the parceling out of KMC properties be stopped immediately and that all such matters be investigated transparently,' he said.He also questioned why relevant federal and provincial law-enforcement agencies, including the military, ISI, Intelligence Bureau, FIA, police and Rangers, were not taking notice of what he described as the 'plunder' of Karachi's land and properties.He warned that action should not be delayed until the city's public assets had been irreversibly lost.Talking about the law and order situation in Karachi, he referred to the murder case of Mir Raza Ali and raised questions regarding the post-mortem examination, forensic report, smartwatch and DVR evidence.He said that attempts were now being made to interfere in the commission's proceedings. According to him, during a recent hearing a High Court judge had sought an explanation from the government over what it wanted and why there were attempts to interfere in the commission's proceedings.Saifuddin said reports of serious crimes, including alleged abductions and torture by groups seeking money or demanding transfers through cryptocurrency accounts, had also emerged.He accused the mayor of defending the police and the government instead of addressing the problems faced by Karachi's citizens.'Karachi's citizens are facing serious insecurity regarding their lives, property and assets,' he said.