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Punjab plans selling 8 million acres state land
By: Yasir Habib Khan
LAHORE - The Punjab government is planning to sell out around 8 million acres of public land owned by different government departments with a view ‘to protect it from the land mafia’.
Out of total 11.8 million acres of land, one million is unused, while more than 8 million acres of agri and urban land worth trillion of rupees is lying vacant. Earlier in 2008, the Revenue Department had announced to regulate them but the move could not be materialised.
According to sources, last month the Punjab government had sought recommendations from all the DCOs to save the land from squatters. After analysing the proposals, a consensus was reached that a step to sell the public land would not only discourage the illegal occupants but also help generate billion rupees as revenue.
According to the Department of Colonies in the Board of Revenue, Punjab government owns 10.8 million acres, out of which, 7.7 million acres belong to different departments. The government has leased out more than 2.3 million acres while 20293 and 2302 acres are used for horse-upbringing and cattle-upbringing schemes respectively.
The available record says that in Attock, out of more than 1.2 million of state land, only 268 acres is in government’s possession, while in Bahawalpur 106001 acres are in the practical possession of the government departments out of a total of more than 229003 acres.
The Nation:July 6, 2009
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