SC slams senior BoR official for failing to end encroachments on state land

KARACHI: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday slammed a senior member of the Board of Revenue Sindh for his evasive stance when it had inquired about the agency’s compliance with its orders regarding the removal of encroachment on state land.

While hearing a plea on computerisation of land revenue record in Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, noted that removal of encroachments from state land was not the discretion of the senior member but it was the command of the court.

“You are defying the court. You could be tried for contempt of court and sent to jail,” remarked chief justice while addressing the senior member.

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The bench in its order noted that the senior member was taking an evasive posture regarding the compliance of its order for removing encroachments from the state land allocated for parks, playgrounds and other amenity purposes.

“Such conduct of the senior member is of defiance of orders of the court especially the order passed on October 29,” noted the bench.

The bench also rejected a report presented by the official as the figures provided were already submitted before the court.

The CJP while warning the senior member observed, “Don’t try to play with the court. What the court had ordered you. Comply with the order. Don’t place this rubbish before us.”

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Justice Ahsan noted that the report stated that there were no encroachments on the state land in Benazirabad, Larkana, Sukkur and Hyderabad districts.

Addressing the Advocate General Sindh, Justice Gulzar observed: “Mr AG do something about it. This gentleman has no idea what he is talking [about].”

Justice Qazi observed that keeping in view the appearance of the senior member, who had the resemblance of a religious man, he can infer that he was involved with the mafia.

The CJP mentioned the mushroom growth of high-rise apartment buildings and housing societies along Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway, National Highway and along the bed of Malir River and asked the senior member whether all that land was “purchased”.

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Justice Ahsan asked the senior member how many apartment buildings and housing schemes had been constructed and developed on state land and how many were built on the land purchased from private owners.

After hearing the bench, the senior member assured the court that he would conduct his work seriously. He also ensured the court that his officers would comply with the orders.

The bench making his assurance part of the day’s order directed the senior member to file the compliance report within a month.