SC asks NAB to focus on mega scandals

Says bureau cannot hijack authority of provincial Anti-Corruption department

KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the role of the National Accountability Bureau while dealing with cases pertaining to Rs500,000 corruption and observed that NAB had a mandate to investigate mega-corruption cases and not of hijacking the authority of the provincial Anti-Corruption department.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim, was informed by a NAB counsel and its investigators that NAB had been conducting an inquiry against revenue officers and others for consolidation and allotment of land in 43 Dehs of Malir by the Malir Development Authority.

They said that NAB had asked the revenue officials about the status of the 43 Dehs of MDA that were allotted to it for consolidation while an identical notification with regard to allotment of land of Dehs to the Lyari Development Authority was withdrawn by the government.

They said the MDA had issued advertisements for consolidation of land in the 43 Dehs, inviting applications from the owners so that private and government land could be consolidated.The court took exception to transfers of the land and observed under what law the MDA had allotted the land when the court had specifically ordered that no transaction of land would take effect in respect of government land till the computerisation of the government land record was completed. “It is a clear violation,” the court observed and inquired from NAB what action was taken over such a violation.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday restrained the Malir Development Authority and the Board of Revenue from allotting or transferring land or from entering into any business transaction with respect to government land.

Hearing an application on adjustment of the land of 43 Dehs by the Malir Development Authority, the SC’s three-member bench, headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim, took notice of the allotment and business transaction of government land by the MDA despite the fact that the court had restrained the Board of Revenue from allotting or mutation of the government land.

Applicant Syed Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi had submitted in the application that the MDA had been adjusting lands in pursuance of different notifications issued by the BoR, claiming that the land which had been exchanged did not match the valuation. Moreover, such an adjustment was not permitted.

He alleged that the MDA had been making illegal adjustments to the land to favour the Bahria Town management by purchasing the land at lower prices and transferring the same to prime locations of the city.The court inquired from the deputy commissioner of Malir how 11,000 acres of land of 43 Dehs got allotted and how private land could be exchanged for the government land.

The DC of Malir said that the control of 43 Dehs had been given to the MDA through a notification, and consolidation of land had been made in government and private land. He said there was no allotment of land to the MDA.

The court asked how thethe revenue board allot land to the MDA, and under what powers the MDA, which was only meant to develop land, enjoyed the authority to allot, adjust or exchange the same with private people.

The court directed the senior member of the Board of Revenue, who could not appear before the court due to some family emergency, to appear before the court on Thursday so that the court may pass an order after hearing his submission and that of the other counsel. 

The court directed the chief secretary to appoint the director-general of MDA within a week.  The court restrained the Malir Development Authority and the Board of Revenue from allotting or transferring of land or entering into business transactions with respect to state land.