At last : Khewra tenants get ownership of land

Punjab government distributes 12,000 kanals among 10,000 peasants in Jhelum

LAHORE/ JHELUM: The Punjab government has formally given ownership rights of 12,000 kanals of land to around 10,000 tenants in Khewra, district Jhelum.

Provincial Minister for Mines and Minerals Chaudhry Sher Ali Khan handed over the ownership documents to the families at a ceremony in Khewra on Tuesday.

Khewra residents had been demanding the ownership rights for long. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had accepted the demand and directed authorities to award ownership of the lands to the peasants.

The provincial minister also announced a grant of Rs163.8 million for the execution of a water supply scheme and upgradion of a middle school for girls to high school level. The projects would be implemented during the current year, he said.

About the welfare of Khewra Salt Mines workers, the minister said that the Punjab government had set up a hospital and a school for mineworkers’ children in Sargodha.

PML-N local leaders, provincial parliamentary secretary for law and parliamentary affairs Nazar Muhammad Gondal, and Jhelum district coordination officer Iqbal Hussain Khan also attended the ceremony.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 4^th, 2016.