Sindh CM okays cancellation of land allotments since 2010

ISLAMABAD: In an encouraging development, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has approved the Board of Revenue’s summary seeking cancellation of all allotments of government land made throughout the province since 2010 by the board or deputy commissioners under Section 17 of the Colonalization of Government Land Act 1912.

Sources told The News that the Sindh chief minister had also approved 13 summaries to get undone the allotments in Naya Malir, which include different housing societies.

These decisions of the chief minister will help recover thousands of acres of the government lands worth billions of rupees, which were doled out to favourites and influential people during the recent years.

The chief minister has also approved the senior member Board of Revenue’s proposal to abolish the Oversee Committee that was made under Senior Member Board of Revenue in 2010 to approve the cases of land allotment in the name of exchange of land.

Following these approvals, the Sindh Board of Revenue would cancel all the allotments that had been made under Section 17 of the Colonalization of the Government Land Act 1912. The board will also write to all deputy commissioners in the province to cancel each and every allotment that they had made since 2010 under the same law.

The chief minister Sindh was recently told by the Senior Member Board of Revenue Muhammad Wasim that there had been a lot of corruption in these allotments, which require cancellation to retrieve the government lands worth billions of rupees.

In a summary seeking the chief minister’s approval, the SMBR informed Qaim Ali Shah that during all these years, the Section 17 of the Colonalization of Government Land Act 1912 had been massively misused to the advantage of influential allottees both by the SMBR Overseeing Committee and the deputy commissioners in almost all the districts of the province.

The Section 17 of the Act allows deputy commissioners to exchange land on the request by tenant. However, to the benefit of the influential and favourites, tens of thousands of acres of precious government land was allotted since 2010.

Since in most of the cases the deputy commissioners did not even bother to engage the provincial Board of Revenue or even the Oversee Committee of the SMBR, there is no idea of the exact quantum of the government lands involved. However, the sources insist that it would be in thousands of acres and worth billions or rupees.

The SMBR’s recommendations were referred to the Advocate General Sindh by the chief minister. The provincial AG had endorsed the SMBR’s proposals besides endorsing the secretary Land Utilization’s call for cancellation of almost 2,500 acres allotment in Naya Malir. The secretary Land Utilization had sent 13 summaries to the chief minister Sindh to cancel these allotments of Naya Malir. Prior to these orders, the chief minister has already cancelled a lease of 5,222 acres of land in interior Sindh.