ISLAMABAD: The Senate was informed on Thursday that encroached-upon land of Pakistan Railways (PR) worth Rs10 billion had been retrieved in one month and efforts were under way across the country to take hold of more illegally occupied land.

Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati disclosed during the question hour that over a dozen PR officials in grade 20-21 were being sent on forced retirement for their involvement in the land scam.

“There is zero tolerance for corruption and such rotten eggs are unacceptable,” he remarked.

He said that railway police and provincial police officials were also involved in grabbing of precious PR land. Land could not be grabbed without the collusion and support of powerful and influential persons.

The minister revealed that government and defence departments were among the encroachers of about 4,789 acres of land across the country.

In Sindh alone, 2,377 acres of PR land has been encroached on, followed by 1,361 acres in Punjab, 613 acres in Balochistan and 437 acres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Pakistan Railways would be turned into a profitable entity under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, said Mr Swati. A business plan was being prepared for the purpose that would soon be unveiled.

The amount payable to PR by departments of the federal and provincial governments stood at Rs8,375.04 million as of November 2020, he said.

Giving the breakup, he said the federal departments owed about Rs709m, provincial departments Rs1,980m and autonomous and private bodies Rs5,685m.

Mr Swati said he had contacted the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments and private entities for the recovery of dues within 30 days, and told them that there would be no business with them if dues were not cleared during this period.

The minister said the tracks of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) had been rehabilitated between the Karachi City and Orangi stations, that is, 14km out of the 30km of loop section had been revived.

After rehabilitation the KCR route would be the same as it existed before its closure.

However, the passenger train service had been extended up to Marshalling Yard, Pipri, on the main PR line, he said.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2021