Allotment of 200 acres land to NHS: Sindh cabinet forms committee

KARACHI: In the wake of objections raised by the Board of Revenue, the Sindh cabinet has constituted a committee to settle the issue with regard to allotment of 200 acres state land for the Navy Cooperative Housing Society on concessional rates.

According to an official handout, the Sindh cabinet discussed the issue of land allotment to the Pakistan Navy for a housing society and formed a committee, which will be headed by the chief secretary Sindh and Advocate General Sindh as a member, to view the legal aspect of the matter.

Earlier, the Pakistan Navy had requested the Sindh government for acquisition of 200 acres of land for the Navy’s Cooperative Housing Society on discounted rates in the Keamari district, Karachi.

However, the Land Utilization Department, Board of Revenue, took the stance that “the Navy Cooperative Housing Society is a private society and the state land, which is the property of the province, cannot be given for private projects.”

In addition, the Land Utilization Department maintained that the allotment of land for the private housing society is subject to approval from the provincial and federal governments.The Land Utilization Department, Board of Revenue, Sindh, is the controlling authority, which deals in management of state land, collection of land revenue, taxes and duties, maintenance of revenue record and other allied matters.

Sources from the Board of Revenue informed The News that a formal request had been received by the Sindh government from Pak Navy a few years ago for the allotment of land but the matter remained pending.

The Pakistan Navy recently sent a reminder to the provincial government in this regard. Following the reminder, the Land Utilization Department made the observation that the land could only be allotted after the approval of the provincial and federal governments as the land was being sought for private purposes. The matter with the objection was sent to the chief minister, who forwarded it to the cabinet.