SC orders recovery of illegally occupied land across Sindh

KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) has directed relevant authorities to recover illegally occupied government land across Sindh province besides ordering the revenue board to submit a comprehensive report in a month, ARY News reported on Thursday.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed heard the case related to the computerisation of records of government land at the SC Karachi Registry today.

CJP Gulzar Ahmed questioned the advocate general regarding the poor performance of the concerned officers. He remarked that the officers were just protecting their interests and whom they were serving.

He continued that the officers were involved in the illegal occupation of land and extortion. He expressed outrage over the non-implementation of court orders. Those working the field are different from such officers, he maintained.

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Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed remarked that the government officers are state servants but not private employees.

CJP Gulzar Ahmed remarked that almost 50 per cent of land in Karachi is occupied. The authorities must witness the illegal occupation of land in Malir, Gulistan-e-Johar, University Road, Korangi bridge, Malir nullah and other localities. He also questioned the legality of a number of high-rise buildings in Karachi.

The chief justice remarked that the illegal buildings have been constructed with the connivance of the revenue department and on the basis of counterfeit documents.

During the hearing, a senior member of the board of revenue apprised the SC that action is being carried out in Korangi against encroachments.

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Justice Ahmed remarked that the court orders are not being implemented. The senior member said that he will try to implement the court orders.

Later, the top court rejected the report of the revenue board’s senior member on the retrieval of illegal occupation of the government land.

The SC directed authorities to retrieve occupied land across Sindh and ordered the senior member to fully implement the court orders. The revenue board’s member was also ordered to submit a comprehensive report within a month.