Sindh cancels lease of 5,222-acre ‘farmland’

Supreme Court has taken suo motu notice of the sale

ISLAMABAD:

The Sindh government has cancelled the lease of 5,222 acres of land allotted to an Arab individual to set up a livestock farm in Thatta district after the top court took notice of the case.

On September 2, the Supreme Court in a suo motu case against illegal allotment of government lands had sought a reply from the Sindh government regarding the lease of thousands of acres of land to the individual on the name of “Emirates Sheep and Agriculture Farming”.

The province told the SC that the request for setting up a livestock and agriculture farm on 10,000 acres in Thatta was received in 1980. The lease agreement was executed on September 13, 1981, at a rate of Rs7 per acre per year.



On July 5, 1982, the lessee surrendered an area of 4,778 acres while keeping the remaining 5,222 acres. The agreement was last extended on June 23, 2008 for a period of 30 years at a rate of Rs30 per year per acre on the original terms and conditions.

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The land was leased to Naseer Abdallah Lootah for the specific purpose of setting up a sheep and agriculture farm. The occupant deposited Rs10.8 million for a period of 69 years while the remaining amount of Rs 4.69 million was to be received.

The report, however, states that on August 10, the Thatta deputy commissioner reported that on inspection of the leased land in Deh Kohistan, it transpired the occupant had infringed the terms and conditions since the date of allotment and failed to establish the farm.

Most of the land remained uncultivated and only about 150 sheep were seen at the site – one of the major violations of the terms and conditions of the lease, the Thatta DC stated.

Later the DC’s report was examined by the land utilisation department and the matter was placed before the chief minister, who accorded approval for the cancellation of lease.

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The land utilization department cancelled the entire 5,222-acre allotment on September 10 with specific directions to the Thatta DC to cancel all entries related to the land in the revenue department and to recover its possession. Though the lease agreement has been cancelled, the Sindh government has sought further time to file a proper reply on the matter.

The top court has adjourned the hearing till the first week of October.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th,  2015.