December 12, 2003	Friday	Shawwal 17, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 11: The sale of over 26,000 acres of Punjab agricultural land, including the controversial Okara farms, to the Pakistan military is reported to be in the final stages, with the Punjab government assessing the price of its four farms at approximately Rs60 billion.

This amount excludes lease money and rent amounting to approximately Rs50 billion that the military is believed not to have paid since partition and a tax surcharge of Rs5 billion assessed at the rate of 10 per cent. The military contends that it has been regularly paying taxes as required under the law. If things go by the book, the purchase will cost the military roughly Rs115 billion. Sources at the Punjab chief minister’s office insist that this amount has been assessed while considering the lower side of the prevailing market rates.

The military had initially requested the Punjab government through Governor Lt General (retd) Khalid Maqbool to give this land free of cost in the ‘larger national interest’ as these farms were used for supply of milk and related products to the armed forces.

Later, it is said a proposal was mooted that the land be transferred to the armed forces at the nominal rate of Rs0.1 million per acre.

The problem is a 1976 official decision that prohibits the transfer of land at less than market rates and it is not possible for the Punjab government to give the land to the military at lower rates without changing the 1976 policy decision.

If approved by the Punjab government, the move would give the military ownership of 26,000 acres at the cost of approximately Rs2.6 billion, payable in 10 to 15 years. The deal includes 2,332 acres of Lahore Cantonment’s Military Farm, the price of which alone has been estimated by the Punjab government at over Rs37 billion, when assessed at the rate of Rs16 million per acre. The proposed purchase also includes another expensive tract of Lahore’s Bhengali Farm comprising 4,341 acres whose price has been assessed by the Punjab government at the rate of Rs3.8 million as approximately Rs16 billion. The Okara Military Farm’s over 17,000 acres have been priced by the Punjab government at Rs4.8 billion, while the price of the Renala Khurd farms has been estimated at Rs790 million.

There is also the issue of approximately Rs50 billion payable as lease money and rent for these farms. The person who confronts the pressure to take a decision on the issue is Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi. It is yet to be seen whether he obliges the military by giving land at less than the market price or waives the lease rent or simply follows the laws.

Inter-Services Press Relations (ISPR) Director-General Major- General Shaukat Sultan’s office was contacted for their version of the story. They were also faxed a set of questions asking: How many military farms are in the possession of the Pakistan Army? What is their total acreage? What kind of farming do you do on these farms? Is it true that the military wants to purchase these farms from the Punjab government? Is there any rent or lease money payable to the Punjab government for these farms? Is it true that Lahore military farm, originally meant for dairy farms, now has a golf course and part of it has been turned into residential area?

ISPR’s response to the above questions, which arrived on December 8, is as follows: “There are 11 military farms in the Punjab province, of these two are the property of the Punjab government and the remaining are the property of the central government. The military possesses these farms under resolution number D-3428-A dated 10 December 1925, adapted by Pakistan via The Pakistan Order 1947 (Adaptation of existing Pakistan laws). The total acreage of these farms is 35,698. This farmland is used for cultivation of fodder to rear animals that are used to produce milk and dairy products for the Armed Forces. The revenue thus earned is turned into the government exchequer. In addition, all the taxes required to be paid as per the law are being paid regularly.”

The entire venture raises several questions. Where is this money coming from for the military to purchase these farms? Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, when approached, said that he had not been consulted on this issue. The finance ministry, he said, had not been asked to make extra provision of money other than what was prescribed in the defence budget.

The case of the Okara farms is even more intriguing. The farms’ tenants have contended all along that the military was not the owner of the land. The military has finally acknowledged the tenants’ contention by pursuing its sale deal. But this might prompt the tenants into arguing that they also have the right to its ownership.

Official records testify that the Punjab government of British India transferred the lease of Okara’s 17,013 acres to the ministry of defence at Rs1,500 annually in 1913. The 20-year lease expired in 1933. Although the lease was not extended, the British ministry of defence continued to pay the lease money till 1943. During the years up to partition since and then after partition to date, lease money was reportedly not paid but the military continued to charge rent from the tenants.

The two military farms in Lahore are also not without problems. Both of them were leased for the purpose of dairy farming. A portion of the Lahore military farm’s 2,332 acres, which were leased in 1944, has been converted into a huge Garrison Golf Course. There is no dairy there and parts of the farm have already been turned into residential areas.

It is said the Bhengali military farms, which comprise the most expensive land in Lahore, might also be incorporated into the new phases of the Defence Housing schemes. This means the sale of one kanal for roughly Rs2 million for a property that the military wants to buy at Rs0.1 million per acre.

Since the two farms of Lahore are situated in the prohibited zones the rent has been calculated on the basis of five per cent of the market price.

Whatever the case, the deal is bound to fuel a debate about the rationale of the buying and selling of these farms.