Pakistan Railways reclaims 1,037 acres from land grabbers

November 13, 2023 (MLN): Pakistan Railways has reclaimed a substantial 1,037 acres of valuable land, estimated to be worth millions of rupees, from illegal land grabbers.

“ As many as 507 acres retrieved in Punjab, 153 acres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 343 acres in Sindh and only 34 acres in Balochistan,” an official in the Ministry of Railways told APP.

He said that about 3,287 acres in Punjab, 832 acres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 5,180 acres in Sindh, and 687 acres of land in Balochistan were being encroached.

The official said that in light of the directives of the Supreme Court, the anti-encroachment operations for retrieval of encroached railway land all over the Railway network were initiated and a joint procedure order was issued to all divisional superintendents for retrieval of railway land from encroachment.

“The anti-encroachment schedules, on a three-month basis, are being prepared and sent to all concerned in line with the joint procedure order,” the official added.

He said Pakistan Railways had also decided to accelerate its ongoing anti-encroachment operation against land grabbers across the country to recoup its land from different individuals, groups, and even business organizations that were using it for residential, commercial and agricultural purposes for decades.

“The encroachment operation will be launched with the assistance of Railway Police and district administrations of the relevant provincial governments,” he added.

Moreover, the organization was taking several steps to retrieve encroached land from the land grabbers including a detailed survey being carried out to identify the encroached land, occupied by the individuals and under illegal occupation by various government departments.

The official said that First Information Reports (FIRs) were being lodged and cases were registered and sent to PR Judicial Magistrates for expeditious trial.

The issue regarding illegal occupation and possession of Pakistan Railways' land by government departments and institutions has also been taken up with the concerned departments, he added.

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