Land embezzlement in Gwadar

Balochistan, the poorest and most backward province, is a hunting ground for professional land looters and bandits. In the last seven years of military rule, the province�s land wealth has been looted, and allotted to military officers, civil bureaucrats and aliens with the help of unfaithful provincial ministers.

Balochistan suffers from poverty, a federal debt of Rs19 billion, massive shortage of school teachers, lack of basic health system, safe drinking water, electricity, institutional infrastructure, unemployment and many other ills can be cured through proper auctioning of land wealth and utilising resources on education, and heath sector, employing new teachers and establishing human resource centres. However, the central government and military rulers have promoted unprecedented mega corruption and mismanagement in the province.

According to an estimate Rs12 billion�s worth of land has been illegally allotted by district co-ordination officers on the instruction of various government functionaries.

The question is whether any serious action has been taken on the Supreme Court�s orders regarding massive land embezzlement in Gwadar. Rulers are continuing to loot wealth and are not willing to cancel all allotments made in the last seven years. Nor are they ready to encourage a transparent system to auction or acquire land on market rates.

According to the order by a divisional bench of the Supreme Court on October 21, 2006: �The land quota, whether industrial or residential, allocated to civil, military, judicial and politicians and other dignitaries in Gwadar be cancelled. It said that the Balochistan government was not the �competent authority� to allot land quotas.

The bench also directed that the allocation of 50 plots to serving and retired members of the judicial system in Sanghar Housing Scheme Phase-V, Gwadar, be cancelled.

�All allotments, mutations, alienations and transfers made in favour of any private party after the first hearing of a petition on October 5 were declared to have �no legal effect�, and the bench directed that their copies be sent to the Supreme Court registrar in Islamabad for their legality and authenticity to be assessed.

�The bench also restricted the chief minister, revenue minister and the Balochistan Board of Revenue from allotting land in Gwadar in violation of the statutory Land Lease Policy.

It ordered that the Balochistan government form a policy for the allotment and disposal of state land in Gwadar, and said that the policy should be used transparently.

�The bench ordered the Board of Revenue senior member to point out all illegal allotments over the last five years in Gwadar. �A complete record of all the allotments over the last five years should be given to the Supreme Court registrar in Islamabad,� said the bench.

The bench has asked the Balochistan law secretary to explain how 4,100 acres of land were allotted to Mir Nazar Kalmati and his family through a notification issued by Capt Fariduddin Ahmedzai, the principal secretary to the Balochistan chief minister.

�The bench has also asked for details of allotments, sales, disposals and exchange of industrial plots in Gwadar to determine how allotments were made. Details of sums received in this regard will also be sent to the Supreme Court registrar within four weeks.

�It directed the Board of Revenue member to provide the names of EDOs (revenue), tehsildars, naib tehsildars and patwaris who were posted to Gwadar over the last five years.�

But nothing has been heard regarding implementation of such serious allegations and recommendations by the superior court