Land mafia grabbing state land at will

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

LAHORE - Illegal occupation is at full throttle on more than 4000 kanals of central government land worth billion of rupees in Cantt circle, Moza Harbanspura within Aziz Bhatti Town, despite government’s rhetoric to cleanse the province from land mafia.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan had cancelled all allotments made by the Board of Revenue (BOR) at different times, terming them as illegal in 2004. All transfer deeds were annulled. Data regarding cancellation of allotments was incorporated in the revenue record. The SC had also ordered to take back all land allotted by the BOR against the rules.
But apex court’s move could not make any impact as the Revenue Department, which had to execute the orders, remained tepid, and just bothered to make sporadic actions. More than 20 FIRs were registered against land grabbers, but some loopholes were deliberately left in these reports. Thus, due to poor FIRs, action could not be carried out against the accused.
In the backdrop of lukewarm policy, land grabbers continued their illegal operation. Now, they are at liberty, and hence have intensified their unlawful drive with all might. At present a number of illegal housing schemes have sprung into action, and the business of sale and purchase of government land is at a fast clip.
When contacted DDO ® Cantt Saleh Saeed told The Nation that those lands, whose allotments were nullified by the Supreme Court were the property of the government. “Nobody can be allowed to construct there,” she maintained and added that the Revenue Department had launched numerous operations with registration of FIRs. To a query about Patwari Tahir Shah’s authority to allow construction on cancelled lands, she replied that investigation was going on and those found involved in this illegality would have to bear the brunt.