Sindh Assembly: Revenue minister comes under fire for Zulfiqarabad

Newly elected PPP MPA Hasnain Mirza takes oath.


Hafeez Tunio March 01, 2012

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly was informed on Thursday that the Sindh government’s revenue department had illegally allotted land to a company and to get international investors for developing Zulfiqarabad in Thatta.

In the question-answer session, Jam Mehtab Dahar, the revenue minister, responded to the MPAs questions politely and said that 328,410 acres was transferred to the Sindh Land Management Development Company to build Zulfiqarabad. However, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) MPA Sardar Ahmed said that allotting the land to the company was a violation of the law as it was established under the Companies Ordinance of 1984 – therefore the government could not give the land to any commercial or development company. He added that land could only be given free of cost to a charity.

The revenue minister responded immediately and said that the company was established by the Sindh government and he did not give the land for free but would fix the rate later. He added that Zulfiqarabad would be a joint public-private partnership venture.

Pakistan Peoples Party MPA Humera Alwani asked the revenue minister how 80,000 allotment orders of landlords were cancelled despite the fact that their families had been settled there for centuries.

Dahar promptly said that the land was government-owned land and most of it was inundated by the sea. He added that some nationalists had started a campaign against the government and were trying to turn people against them.

The revenue minister said that Chinese investors had shown interest in the project and they were going to advertise for more investors. When MPAs asked him about the amount of money spent on the project, Dahar said that he did not have details.

Anti-encroachment

Dahar said that so far two police stations, including one in Karachi, were set up for the anti-encroachment force which would retrieve government land occupied by land mafia.

New MPA on the block

Speaker Nisar Khuhro administered oath to the newly elected PPP MPA from Tando Bago, Hasnain Mirza, as other MPAs chanted ‘Jeay Bhutto’. In his brief speech, Mirza, the eldest son of former Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza, thanked the party’s co-chairpersons for giving him the ticket and the people of Badin for voting for him.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 2nd, 2012.

COMMENTS (14)

BLing BLing | 12 years ago | Reply

When will we get rid of these families that treat Pakistan like its jagir?

smj | 12 years ago | Reply

Hussnain is going to join MQM if mommy dont let him talk :-)

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