HYDERABAD, April 13: A controversy between police and villagers over a plot of land, which grows in value with each passing day due to its proximity to the bypass and Hyderabad-Jamshoro road, has been unresolved since 1973, fuelling fears it may bring the disputing parties to a clash.

Former Sindh chief minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim tried to settle the dispute by forming an inspection team, which recommended making entries in the revenue record in the name of police department after making thorough inquiry but it has not been done so far.

Record shows that around 371-16 acres of land on the Jamshoro-Hyderabad road, which now falls within Qasimabad taluka, had been granted to the All-Pakistan Rajputana Federation in 1968 by the then commissioner Masrur Hassan at the rate of Rs250 per acre for charitable purposes. The federation has built a hospital on part of the land.

In 1973, police department bought 50-36 acres of land from the federation for Rs200,000 but did not complete the procedure. The revenue department did record the purchase of land but did not transfer its ownership in the buyer’s name.

The chief minister’s team said in its report that the land sold to police was also allotted to the New Town Cooperative Society in lieu of land situated in Deh Ganjo Takkar by the Land Utilisation Department of the Board of Revenue under the orders of the then chief minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi without considering the fact that the land had already been sold.

Police raised the issue at a belated stage with chief minister Abdullah Shah who directed the departments concerned to verify the actual position. The villagers of Shoro village on survey number-12 close to the land in question also lay claim to the land’s ownership, much to the indignation of police.

Another authorised village of Pathans on survey number 10 over an area of 2-15 acres is situated on the police plot, leaving an area of 41-39 acres out of 50-36 acres vacant.

The team recommended that the land granted to the housing society should be cancelled as the society was non-functional and 9-20 acres of Shoro village, which was under the occupation of villagers, should be considered to be given to the villagers and the vacant area of 8-21 acres should be declared amenity area.

Likewise, 2-15 acres of Pathans’ village should be considered to be given to the occupants at the prevailing market rate and the district revenue department should be directed to trace out the account of Rs200,000 deposited by police as the price of the land and allot the vacant area of 41-39 acres to the police department at market rates of 1973.

Police are now pursuing the case with the authorities to get an entry made in the revenue record but it has not been done so far.