Assembly session: Lawmakers discuss encroachment on government property

PESHAWAR:

Nearly 186,690 kanals of government land has been encroached upon in at least five districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, while another 349,266 kanals have been illegal occupied in eight districts of the province, the assembly was told on Tuesday.

The issue was raised by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl lawmaker Mufti Syed Janan. The details provided by the concerned department showed that government land had been taken over by encroachers in Peshawar, Nowshera, Hangu, Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan and Abbottabad.



The figures show that 242 kanals in Peshawar, 983 in Nowshera, 184,974 in Hangu, 98 in Lakki Marwat and about 369 kanals in Abbottabad have been encroached.

Labour Minister Sher Azam Wazir admitted there was illegal occupation on state land across the province. He said the government had recently introduced a new law in place of the Anti-encroachment Act 1977, which had been more effective in tackling the matter. He alleged that encroachers go to court and the slow pace of litigation delays the process.

Corruption allegations

Lawmakers also expressed concern over the new policy of promotions and transfers in the primary and secondary education department, and accused the district education officer in Upper Dir for accepting bribes from teachers.

Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Sardar Hussain Babak told the house there was no place for nepotism and corrupt practices, He asked the speaker to call a meeting of the concerned standing committee on the issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2013.