Possession trumps title despite law against land grab

LAHORE: The task forces against land grab, at both the provincial and district levels, have failed to convene a meeting since July 2008 to review action recommended against organised land grab, retrieval of public and private properties worth billions and redress of public grievances, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The lacklustre performance has irked the provincial departments and the people whose properties have been illegally occupied, an official in the chief minister’s (CM’s) secretariat said.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is personally heading the Provincial Task Force (PTF) on Land Mafia. The district coordination officers (DCOs) chair the task forces at the district level to act against illegal occupants of public and private land, commercial as well as agricultural.

In July 2008, the Punjab government constituted a PTF consisting of 28 senior politicians and officers headed by the CM to recommend action against land grabbers for retrieval of illegally occupied land owned by government departments and private persons. Its members included the provincial law minister, the revenue minister, the chief secretary, a senior member of the Board of Revenue, various administrative secretaries, a provincial police officer, the Anti Corruption Establishment director general, several senior police officers, revenue officers and parliamentarians. The Punjab home secretary acted as its secretary.

In due time 35 District Task Forces were formed, each consisting of 13 members including revenue officers, police officers, parliamentarians and notable citizens of the district concerned headed by the DCO.

According to the Board of Revenue’s record, over 45 ‘Qabza Groups’ are operating in the province. These gangs have illegally occupied state and private land worth billions of rupees.

According to the official record, 26 such gangs were operating in Bahawalpur, three in Faisalabad, six in Lahore, five in Gujranwala, six in Khanewal and two in Layyah district.

A CM’s secretariat officer said and grab really took off as organised crime during the last decade. He said some of the gangs had deprived government and citizens of land worth billions.

In July 2009, the CM’s secretariat held a workshop for the district officers (Revenue) to formulate a plan for a phased crack down against the land grabbers. The workshop categorised the land grabbers by their modus operandi. First, there were by private housing developers who deprived citizens of their rights in violation of laws and relevant rules. Second, there were gangs that took illegal possession of urban lands belonging to government departments. Third, those who had illegal possession of agricultural land owned by the state or various government departments. Fourth, those who took advantage of disputes relating to private agricultural land and took possession of it. Last, those who claimed to dispute private title to agricultural land, private buildings or plots or encroached on community land in rural areas drains, roads, canals and water ponds.

For practical reasons, the participants of the workshops recommended action against land grabbers in four phases.

In the first phase, commercial estate would be retrieved by taking action against the illegal occupants. It would then be sold under the Privitisation Act to raise funds for the provincial treasury. The other phases were to be prioritised after the completion of the first phase.

These recommendations, however, have not yet been placed before the PTF because it has still not been convened to recommend legal action against the land grabbers, the official said.

The Punjab government has disbanded six task forces, whose chairmen were getting hefty salaries and allowances. The 18 Task Forces that have honorary chairpersons are still operational despite an announcement by the government indicating this system was being wound up.

The claim to good governance through the task forces has been assailed as a sham and the chairpersons accused of enjoying protocol, and using government offices and staff cars without any tangible contribution.

Approached by The Express Tribune, CM’s press secretary Shoaib Bin Aziz declined to comment on the performance of the task forces.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2010.