Representational image. PHOTO: Reuters
FAISALABAD: Government departments have got vacated state land worth Rs8.5 billion from illegal occupants. However, neither any fine has been imposed on the encroachers nor has a case been registered against the land mafia.
The Anti-Corruption Establishment and revenue collectors of Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang and Chiniot districts jointly retrieved 1,844.4 acres of state land during a drive against encroachment from August last year to January.
Legal experts said that under section 33 of the Colonisation of Government Land Act 1912, if any person, without permission of a revenue officer, takes or is in possession of land to which he has no right or title or encroaches any state land, he is liable to be fined.
Sections 409 and 448 of Pakistan Penal Code state that if someone illegally occupies or encroaches state land, the district collector is authorised to sentence him with a fine of one-fifth share of the total income of cultivated crop.
The divisional Anti-Corruption Establishment and revenue department retrieved 218 acres and 828 kanals of state land from illegal occupants in Faisalabad, 10,865 kanals and 63 marlas in Jhang, 35 acres and 691 kanals in Toba Tek Singh and 552 kanals and 21 marlas in Chiniot.
ACE retrieves 88 kanals of state land
The land was encroached by the land grabbers 10 to 20 years ago in connivance with political leaders and officials of revenue department who earned billions of rupees from the commercial and agricultural land but did not pay any fine to the national exchequer.
Among the 42 suspected land grabbers, the government departments picked only one accused, Zafar Iqbal Nagra, a Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) and President of Anjuman Data Ali Hajvery, in connection with illegal occupation of state land measuring eight kanals and seven marlas. An investigation against him is underway.
An anti-corruption court has granted him interim pre-arrest bail. He was elected as the provincial member assembly from the PML-N.
Anti-Corruption Establishment Assistant Director Anwar Sherazi said that ACE has only extended cooperation to the revenue department to retrieve the state land and it is for the revenue department to take legal action against the land grabbers.
“Section 409 of Pakistan Penal Code also authorizes us to initiate proceedings against the land mafia but we have less time to indulge in such an activity,” he said.
Faisalabad Saddar Tehsildar Rashid Ali, when contacted for comments, said the court reader should be consulted in this regard. Assistant Commissioner Umer Maqbool also gave no response on the issue.
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