Land allotment case: Revenue department hindering industrial development says CJ Jillani

Report shows land recovered from encroachers but fails to show total land.


Our Correspondent June 23, 2014

KARACHI:


Supreme Court Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani remarked that poor treatment of potential investors by the Sindh revenue department in matters of land and property was hindering industrial development in the province.


He made this observation while heading a three-member bench that was hearing cases relating to the allotment, lease and illegal encroachments of state lands at the SC's Karachi Registry on Monday.

During the hearing, Salahuddin Siddiqui, the chief executive officer of Razi Sons (Pvt) Ltd, submitted that 10 acres was allotted to him on lease for the construction of an automotive parts factory. He said that while he had made the requisite payment of Rs20 million, he has yet to receive possession of the land even though several years have passed. Since the case was fixed by the apex court, Malir deputy commissioner Kazi Jan Mohammad had recently sent the possession letter along with a site plan but there was still no access to the land, he said.

Encroached lands' retrieval

The Board of Revenue submitted a report detailing the total land retrieved from encroachers, which stood at 2,864 acres, 16.2 ghuntas and 2500 square yards. The judges, however, noted that the report did not contain details of the total acreage of encroached land in the province.

BoR's member Malik Israr Hussain was directed to find out the actual position and submit the report the today (Tuesday).

Lands allotment stay

Sindh advocate-general Abdul Fateh Malik said that the court's order regarding the stay on allotments, mutations, transfers and conversion of any state land was being complied with in letter and spirit.

On this, the judges clarified that the court's previous orders staying the allotment and grant of long leases was meant to ensure that the land was not leased or allotted to land grabbers and encroachers. They said that this should not prevent the competent authority in the federal or provincial governments to allot or lease out land for a project approved by the relevant authority or for the establishment of any industry or initiative of public interest.

Illegal lands allotment

In another application, Syed Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi alleged that private persons and revenue officials had allotted valuable state land to their own kith and kin, causing huge losses to the public exchequer. The apex court referred the matter to the SHC chief justice with directions to depute a senior district and sessions judge to inquire into the matter and submit a report within three weeks.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 24th, 2014.

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