Anti-encroachment drive : Govt begins weeding out NA-Class properties

The Sindh government has finally undertaken a survey of Karachi’s NA-Class land; identifying individuals and institutions who have illegally occupied state property. The government however, despite locating the encroachers, is yet to figure out a way to rid the illegally occupied land, while various such state properties still remain unidentified in other parts of the province.

According to legal experts, NA-Class refers to un-assessed or un-surveyed state land. Speaking in the regard, former bureaucrat Aftab Memon informed that it was the British colonisers who for the first time, conducted a survey of agricultural land in the region and made revenue boundaries of the districts, talukas and Dehs. “Land other than classified as agricultural was not surveyed during the British rule. Hence the un-surveyed land was termed NA-Class land,” he told.

In Karachi, most of the NA-Class land was known to be located in district Malir and the former West district. Per official data of the Sindh Board of Revenue, some 93 Dehs of metropolitan city are littered with such properties, which per a Geodatabase based Survey (GIS) conducted by the Board of Revenue’s Reform Wing and Special Cell, under directives of the Supreme Court, is estimated to occupy over 6,41,000 acres the city’s landmass. In addition to that, the survey also identified the city’s encroached lands, which have been illegally occupied by not only individuals but also various government institutions.

According to the official report submitted by the Board of Revenue before the Supreme Court of Pakistan, at least 37,898 acres of NA-Class land is currently under illegal possession of government institutions in Karachi. The institutions include Karachi Port Trust, National Logistic Cell, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Air Force, Lyari Development Authority, Malir Development Authority and others. Whereas, around 24,000 acres was found under illegal occupation in only two dehs of district West, Deh Moach and Deh Lal Bakhar.

Provincial Minister for Local Governments, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah admitted that most of the encroached land was still under illegal occupation in Karachi and that the Sindh government is still in the process of reclaiming these properties. “Hundreds of acres of NA-Class lands are also illegally occupied by the government institutions. Some of these institutions are however waiting for formal approval of the land by the Sindh government,” he corroborated.

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Meanwhile there is still thousands of acres NA-Class land in other districts of the province, which is yet to be looked into. The Board of Revenue is yet to conduct a GIS-based survey of such lands to determine number the number NA-Class properties occupied in other districts. However, per what is estimated, most of the province’s NA-Class lands are said to be scattered across Kohistan, district, Jamshoro, Dadu and Thatta. “Whole the land of district Tharparkar is still un-surveyed. The government will also start survey of state land in other districts soon”, Hussain informed The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2021.