Islamabad: Pakistan’s prime minister has announced action to put an end to the illegal encroachment of state lands across the country.
The government faced “massive resistance” when it initiated cadastral mapping to digitalise land records. The latest study revealed massive encroachment of state land worth Rs5.5 trillion.
Prime Minister Imran Khan described the revelation as “shocking facts” sharing the details on his Twitter account. The total value of all encroached state land stood at approximately Rs5.5 trillion including the land encroached in three major cities of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad was valued at Rs2.63trillion. Similarly, encroached forest land was worth around Rs1.86 trillion.
9.4% of total forest area encroached
Pakistan PM’s aide on climate change Malik Amin Aslam told journalists that the recent findings of the Survey of Pakistan revealed that “around 700,000 acres (2833 sq km) of the forest land was currently under illegal occupation” which makes up around 9.4 per cent of country’s total forest area. Pakistan’s total forest cover is 7,413,161 acres (or 30,000 square kilometres), according to the latest data.
Lamenting the silence of the previous governments over land encroachments, he vowed that “no stone will be left unturned to recover the encroached forest land that has the potential to increase existing forest cover of 5 per cent to 8 per cent.”
Encroachment in provinces
Sharing details of state land in illegal possession or encroachment, Aslam said that around 160,000 acres of public or state land in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces has been encroached upon. The estimated encroached land area was highest in the Sindh province, he said.
At least 71 per cent (10,970 acres) of the total 15,450 acres of forest land in Benazirabad district of Sindh, was encroached, the official shared. In the Takhtpari Forest in Rawalpindi, almost 34 per cent (755 acres) of the total 2,210 acres area of land is under illegal possession while the land mafia encroached upon 58 per cent (629 acres) of the total 1,089 acres of Lohi Behr Forest area located at the fringes of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The land mafia and encroachers have turned the city of Karachi into a concert jungle, devouring most of 2,703 sq km of forest area under Karachi Forest Division, leaving behind only 0.4 per cent of the land.
PM Imran Khan would share the data with the provinces for strict and swift action against land grabbers and recovery of land, the adviser said.
