GWADAR: The Balochistan government through a notification has cancelled the settlement of more than 36,000 acres of land in Pasni tehsil of Gwadar district and declared it government lands.
Informed sources said on Sunday that the lands cancelled were situated in 19 villages of Pasni tehsil. The notification NO-70/settlement /2018, issued on Jan 7, 2019, was signed by Senior Member of Board of Revenue Shoaib Ahmed Gola.
The government’s decision has deprived people of billions of rupees’ investment they had made,” Ghulam Muhammad, president of Real Etate Association, told Dawn.
The villages in which lands have been cancelled were: Shumal Bandan, Char Bandan, Chikeen, Ghati, Shatngi, Girani, Gadzan Bil, Kanir Bil, Makola Sharqi, Kapar Sharqi, Kapar Gharbi, Kalmat, Chandi Kalmat, Aspiak , Makola Gharbi, Dosi, Rombaro, Shadi Kour Shumali and Zareen.
Balochistan govt’s decision deprives locals of billions of rupees
Landowners of these areas have expressed serious concern over the provincial government decision and claimed that the lands declared by the government to be its own had been registered in their names for centuries in the official record as these lands belonged to their ancestors.
They said that the government should pay the price of the lands to owners if it needed it.
Balochistan National Party (BNP-Mengal) MPA Mir Hamal Kalmati assailed the Board of Revenue’s decision and said it was the third time that the government was depriving owners of these lands.
He said the government did settlement of these lands twice and allotted them to the people after completing the process and now again the department concerned was doing great injustice with the people of 19 villages of Pasni tehsil.
He said that that local people were owners of these lands and they had verdicts of the high court and Supreme Court to support their claims about their ownership of the lands.
“We will not accept these injustices with the people of Pasni Tehsil and would fight for their rights at all forums,” Mr Kalmati said.
Published in Dawn, February 4th , 2019