Sindh’s land reserved for forests increases to 1,021,000 acres

Following the registration of new 421,000 acres of land reserved for the forest category, the Sindh Forest Department‘s land has touched its highest number ever with a total of 1,021,000 acres of land, according to a press release issued by the Sindh Forest Department on Friday.

It said the total land reserved for the forest category had been increased from 0.6 million acres to the new figure of one million and 21 thousand acres. It said the reserved forest land had been registered in the land utilisation record in a passage of three months.

According to the press statement, the registered land record from the year 1892 to 2019 of the reserved forest land was just 0.6 million acres. The press release said Sindh Minister for Information, Forest and Wildlife Syed Nasir Hussain Shah lauded the registration work while presiding over a meeting to review the progress of the land utilisation record.

Board of Revenue senior member Kazi Shahid Pervaiz, chief conservator of forest Riaz Waggan, chief conservator Aijaz A Nizamani, Jamshoro DC Capt Fariduddin and other officials of the revenue and forest departments attended the meeting.

“From now, no land which has already been registered could be allotted to anyone. Neither could anyone claim their right of ownership on these lands,” said the minister, who has directed the revenue and forest departments to jointly take efforts to protect the approximately 2.5 million acres of the land by registering it in the official land record as a protective forests land.

The minister elaborated that data and record of all forest land were being digitalised and they would ensure proper vigilance and monitoring to further improve the working of the forest department on modern lines.

He directed that all pending issued of the forest department with the revenue department must be resolved without any delay under the Supreme Court directions. The matters and issues of illegal possession pertaining to the forest department would also be finalised, the press release said.