SHC gives 15 days to recover forest land

SUKKUR: The Circuit Bench, Sukkur, of the Sindh High Court here on Tuesday ordered to get 169,000 acres of the forest land vacated from grabbers.

The two-member bench of SHC comprising Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Abdul Rasheed Soomro expressed displeasure over the forest department’s failure to recover the encroached land. The forest department officials told the court that nearly 5,000 acres of land had been recovered. The additional advocate general, Shafi Muhammad Chandio, informed the court that Rangers, police and revenue officers were not cooperating to recover the forest land. Seeking more time for action from the court, he said the encroachment mafia is very powerful. The bench rejected the request and directed the relevant officers to get the land vacated in 15 days otherwise the court would take action against the authorities. The court adjourned the proceedings till March 26, 2019.