Karachi’s entire land record to go under the microscope

SC calls record to know why Karachi does not need revenue boundaries.

KARACHI:

The Supreme Court has directed the Sindh government to submit its entire records to prove its stance that only Karachi’s West district requires redrawing revenue estate boundaries.

This order came in a 10-page dossier issued by the apex court’s Karachi registry office on Tuesday. The court concluded the three-day proceedings of implementation of Karachi violence suo motu case, which began last month. The matter of reconstitution of the police and revenue administrative units has been described as a major hurdle in redrawing the electoral constituencies in the city.

In their detailed judgment last year, the Supreme Court judges had recommended redrawing the constituencies to stop political polarisation. But neither the election commission nor the Sindh government made any efforts on the pretext of legal bars on delimitation.

As the apex court took strong exception to the non-compliance of its orders, the election commission secretary, Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan, finally appeared in court on November 28.

While he said that the process would be completed within the shortest possible time, the Sindh chief secretary brought an interesting fact to the fore: the boundaries of certain city police stations had already been reconstituted. “The district coordination officer and deputy commissioners concerned have informed that, except district West, no reconstruction of revenue estate boundaries is required,” the chief secretary contended.

In their interim order, the judges directed the chief secretary to place on record all relevant material so that it can be carefully examined.



The apex court also observed that while the revenue department “deliberately” avoided restoring the burnt land revenue record after Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, the officials still allowed allotments, conversions and mutations of lands in different districts of Sindh without verifying their actual ownership.

The judges noted that the land leases granted for 30 years had been converted into 99 years in the manner “alien” to the laws. The Board of Revenue abusing its authority had allowed transactions relating to transfer of state land, which must have caused huge financial losses to the national exchequer and also “encouraged” land grabbing.

The apex court has directed the entire revenue record of all districts be kept at the Mukhtiarkar’s office. The revenue department has been stopped from issuing mutation, allotment, transfer or conversion of any state land until the entire record is not reconstructed. The conversion of 30-year lease to any term up to 99 years was also ordered to be stopped immediately.

Calling all the records, the judges also warned that the matter could be referred to the National Accountability Bureau for inquiry to determine whether the government had suffered losses or the revenue authorities had misused their authority while passing orders for transactions. Expressing dismay over the report submitted by the Rangers director-general about the number of people arrested to improve law and order, the judges made it clear that all fundamental rights of citizens were protected under the constitution.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2012.