PM permits Interior Ministry to launch operation against land mafia

[Salman]

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has given permission to take stern action against land grabbers without any discrimination in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi and ordered the interior ministry to launch merciless operation against land mafia.

Sources told Online that a close ally of the prime minister advised him to take action against land mafia to vacate millions of acres land illegally occupied by them, adding that it was also advised him to approve an Act from parliament which could curb the land mafia so that rights of the real owners of the land could be protected.

On this the prime minister directed the Interior Ministry to immediately start this task.

Sources in the interior ministry said orders have been issued to the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) to provide complete data of land mafia. However, orders have also been issued to Capital Development Authority (CDA), Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and other administrative departments to collect record of land mafia.

“A consultation was being made to establish a Land Protection Cell (LPC) so that land of real owners could be protected”, sources added.

As per sources, there was also chance of formatting a committee of parliamentarians to review the files of farm houses located in the area of Chak Shahzad. The committee would also review that whether the allotees have fulfilled the criteria of allotment set by the CDA or not. If the allotees have not fulfilled the criteria, then their farms will be cancelled.

Sources further disclosed that PML-N parliamentarians, involve in land grabbing, have started to use their influence to save themselves.

It is pertinent to mention here that at present due to increasing population of twin cities, houses and residential units have been shortened. Various sectors of CDA have not been developed due to this land mafia. The land mafia has purchased the land at low rates near the proposed sectors of CDA and started to blackmail the civic agency.

On the other hand, there are more than one hundred such housing societies which have been victimized by the land mafia. The owners of these housing societies have received million of rupees from poor people fraudulently.