SC asks DCs to take charge of anti-encroachment operation in Sindh

KARACHI: The top court on Tuesday directed deputy commissioners (DCs) across Sindh to take charge of the anti-encroachment operation in their respective districts and retrieve the state’s land from land grabbers.

A three-member SC bench – headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed – issued the orders while hearing a case at the Karachi registry regarding computerization of land revenue records in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Balochistan.

A senior member of the Board of Revenue Sindh apprised the bench that the DCs had avoided becoming complainants in the land encroachment cases because they were pre-occupied by official work, and court appearances would affect it if they became part of the prosecution in encroachment cases.

The SC observed that the encroachment of state land was a serious matter, and it should be taken and dealt with seriously by the government officials.

Sindh’s senior member of the Board of Revenue also filed a report about the digitization of land revenue records, stating that 95 per cent work about the computerization of land records had been completed. Some 25,990 entries had been found suspicious, out of which, 439 had been blocked. 

The owners of the land could access their record on a website launched by the board of revenue with address www.sindhzameen.gov.pk by simply entering the Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) number, he added.

The Sindh Board of Revenue official also submitted a report regarding the retrieval of state land from illegal occupants. The apex court, however, observed that a small portion of the ‘encroached’ state land had been retrieved.

The top court directed Sindh’s senior member of the Board of Revenue to make the anti-encroachment drive more effective and submit a report at the next hearing. He was also told to complete the computerization of land records expeditiously.

Another senior member of the Board of Revenue of K-P also submitted a report regarding the computerization of land records in the province. The SC also directed him to complete the settlement of land process, and computerization of land records expeditiously and preferably by end of 2022. A senior member Board of Revenue Balochistan had also filed a similar report in the court today.