Sindh govt forms body to probe Mirpurkhas land record scams

KARACHI: The Sindh government has constituted a high-level fact-finding committee to conduct a thorough inquiry into a series of major land record frauds and illegal mutations in Mirpurkhas district, following revelations of large-scale tampering in revenue records involving commercial and residential plots worth billions of rupees.

According to an official notification issued by the Revenue Department with the formal approval of the Chief Minister of Sindh, the committee will be chaired by the Commissioner Shaheed Benazirabad Division, while the Member Judicial-III of the Board of Revenue Sindh and the Commissioner Mirpurkhas Division will serve as members.

The committee has been tasked with carrying out an in-depth inquiry into multiple cases of land record forgery and manipulation, identifying and fixing responsibility on serving and retired officials as well as private beneficiaries, and submitting a detailed report within 15 days for further action.

As per official correspondence, copies of which were accessed by The News, the inquiry will cover fraudulent revenue entries related to shops in the Sabzi Mandi of Mirpurkhas, five acres of land in Malhi Colony, 22 acres of land near PCB Ground on Tando Adam Road allegedly converted from commercial plots, six acres in the Iqbal Town Truck Stand area, and other forged entries in Taluka Hussain Bux Marri, District Mirpurkhas.

The committee has also been empowered to recommend legal, disciplinary, and administrative action against officers and private individuals found responsible for manipulating land records. This inquiry follows a series of investigative reports published by The News in recent months exposing a 22-acre land scam, the encroachment of dozens of acres of state and evacuee trust properties, irrigation department lands, and privately owned plots — all involving extensive forgery and manipulation of official land records by officials of the Mirpurkhas Revenue Department.

The case pertains to a large tract of land originally classified as evacuee and state property, which was allegedly converted into private holdings through tampered entries and forged record-of-rights (Form VII-A) across the district, particularly in Deh-109, Taluka Hussain Bux Marri.