Rawalpindi: Land consolidation in 45 villages lingers on

[Naveed Yaseen]

More than 45 villages of the Rawalpindi district have been in the process of consolidation (Ishtamal) for the last five years.

According to the Punjab Consolidation of Holding Ordinance 1960, maximum completion time for the consolidation is two years. The consolidation of land is a healthy exercise aiming at to distribute the ancestral land among the families.

There are generally 12 types of land that is being distributed according to standard of the land among the families. In the consolidation process, the land for schools, graveyards and other common use of a community or village is also being allocated and reserved.

Taking to ‘The News’ Deputy Secretary (consolidation of land) Irfan Khalid who is serving in the Punjab Board of Revenue in Lahore said that there are 25,892 villages in the Punjab adding so far more than 25,000 villages had passed from the process of consolidation.

The remaining villages are still in the process of consolidation as there are also villages on the record that have been in this process for the last 50 years.

Irfan Khalid said that maximum competition time of consolidation for any village is not more than two years. According to The Punjab Consolidation of Holding Ordinance 1960, it should be completed in the mentioned time frame, he added.

He said that the purpose of consolidation is to work out the land disputes and the settlements of dubious lands, but generally after consolidation disputes get increased.

After the consolidation people have to move to the district revenue courts and Punjab Board of Revenue for the solution of their complaints regarding the land issues.

When contacted by ‘The News’, Executive District Office (EDO) Revenue Rawalpindi, Zubair Khan said that there are 45 villages in the Rawalpindi district that are still in the process of consolidation for the last five years. He said that the basic reason behind this delay in the consolidation of land is lack of resources while Patwaris are busy in other matters. The completion date of the consolidation of these villages is June 2010, but it could not be completed in time, he added.

Zubair Khan said that revenue department is discouraging the process of because this exercise creates disputes among various families on the distribution of land. The revenue department is also involved in fake consolidation of land, he added.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=208596