Operation in Dadu katcha area to recover illegally occupied land

DADU: The district authorities have launched an operation for recovery of the forest land illegally occupied in Dadu district, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

The district administration officers along with Sindh forest department officials and heavy contingents of police have launched an operation in the riverine area of Indus in Dadu district to recover the forest department’s land from illegal occupation.

The local authorities with the help of heavy machinery demolished scores of mud huts in the katcha area during the operation.

Several residents of a small village community in the area started crying after seeing demolition of their mud huts.

The administration officials also destroyed the wheat crop sown on the land.

The authorities have launched the operation for recovery of the government land in the katcha area on an order of the Supreme Court.

During a case hearing the chief justice had expressed his displeasure after Sindh’s additional advocate general informed the court that at least 70,000 acres of forest land were illegally occupied in the province.

The court had issued an order on October 31 last year for illegally allotted land to be returned.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had told the Sindh Assembly in November last year that around 149,235 acres of land have been illegally occupied by influential persons over the last five years in Sindh.

In Dadu, 27,566 acres of land and in Benazirabad 24,161 acres land occupied. While 23,715 acres in Sukkur, 19,271 acres in Hyderabad, 12,238 acres in Larkana, 17,477 acres in Khairpur and 7,879 acres in Kandhkot occupied, Sindh chief minister told the assembly session.