Court official recommends comuputerisation of land records

Case regarding right to records of Latifabad taluka is being heard in the SHC

HYDERABAD: The controversy surrounding possession of land revenue records of the vast and rapidly growing Latifabad taluka of Hyderabad has again surfaced in a judicial inquiry. In his report last week, a judicial official of the Sindh High Court (SHC) recommended computerisation of the records as well as keeping it in the record of rights, which is held by the revenue department.

The records, which are in custody of the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) instead of Sindh revenue department, include details of private ownership of land, residential and commercial structures. "There is no computerised, scanned or microfilming record of [Latifabad]," the additional registrar, Syed Sabit Ali Shah, who was appointed commissioner for inspection in a petition, pointed out in his report.

"The mukhtiarkar of Latifabad stated upon inquiry that there is no record duly entered in the record of rights."

Latifabad , which is one of the four revenue talukas in Hyderabad, is the only planned settlement in the district. With the purpose of providing residential areas to immigrants from India it was established in the early 1950s. The town, which has expanded into a taluka, was built on the land either donated or acquired from the descendants of the Talpur dynasty.



It is the second most populated taluka in Hyderabad and consists of one National Assembly constituency and two of the Sindh Assembly. Besides being a commercial hub, it is also home to a speedily developing commercial high street, the six-kilometre-long Autobahn Road.

The former deputy commissioner of Hyderabad, Anwar Ali Shar, raised this issue in May this year. He pointed out to the provincial government that the land records, which are supposed to be in the custody of the revenue department, are being held by the HMC, adding that the corporation is also charging property tax.

"The record of HMC is very essential to be computerised and kept in the record of rights [with the revenue department]," suggested the additional registrar's report.

The matter recently came to the fore in a petition filed by Habibullah, who pleaded to the SHC that a commercial building on Autobahn road has encroached upon the roads.

A large part of the road on the northern side, 194 square yards on the eastern side and 40 square yards on the southern side have come under encroachment, according to the report. The building, which received approval for constructing up to 13 floors, is being built on two amalgamated plots measuring 2,835 square yards.



The HMC's director of land, Syed Ashfaq Ahmed Rizvi, during the inspection informed the additional registrar that the width of the Autobahn Road from the median to the building is officially set at 75 feet. When the judicial official measured the road, the length was calculated at 82.7 feet, which was nearly eight feet more the official road width. It gave an impression that the builder had left space with the road instead of illegally occupying it.

However, the judicial officer was surprised when he came to know through the Hyderabad Development Authority's (HDA's) records that the actual road width was supposed to be 150 feet. This includes 75 feet for the road and as much open space along the road for drainage and service roads. "On perusal of the map the undersigned was surprised that ... there is only 82 feet of the road, including the open space, [left after construction of the building]."

An official of the HDA, who requested anonymity, said that several other buildings on Autobahn Road have been built by occupying the road in collusion with government authorities. "Autobahn Road is undergoing a quick transformation with simultaneous construction of dozens of vertical structures. If proper regulatory measures are not applied over the construction spree now, the drainage and traffic problems will become hazardous," he believed.