KARACHI, Sept 23: Land measuring some 1.3 million acres, belonging to the Thatta district alone, has been swallowed up by the Arabian Sea due to a lack of flow of river water.
This information was given to the Sindh Assembly on Thursday by the Chief Minister, Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, in his reply to a question by the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian's MPA Humera Alwani.
Providing details, the chief minister said 170,267 acres were lost in Kharochan taluka whereas 115,474 acres were lost in Ketibundar. In Jati 424,419 acres, Mirpur Sakro 22,898 acres, taluka Shahbandar 521,865 acres and in taluka Ghorabari 32,060 acres were lost to the sea.
Responding on behalf of the chief minister, Senior Minister Syed Sardar Ahmad said that out of about 1.3 million acres, some 1,216,000 acres belonged to the government whereas 59,000 acres belonged to the cultivators. He informed the house that out of the total acreage lost, 8,9000 acres were Abad.
He also informed the house that a survey was being carried out of the land which was lost since 1990 and stated that no application had been received for alternate land for the Abad land damaged through sea intrusion.
He said a mechanism was being evolved to tackle the issue. He said the provincial government had been demanding since 1991 that at least 10 MAF of river water should be allowed to fall into the sea to stop sea intrusion but the government of Punjab was insisting on 5 MAF.
This had resulted in friction between the two provinces and they had agreed to constitute a technical committee last year. When opposition leader Syed Qaim Ali Shah pointed out to the second part of the chief minister's written reply to another question by Mrs Alwani, in which he had stated that the land which came under intrusion could not be reclaimed as there was no mechanism for the purpose, as reported by District Officer (Revenue) Thatta, Syed Sardar Ahmad said that raising embankments of the river would not solve the problem of intrusion.
He said when river water flew into the sea it also brought with it silt which increased the level of land and prevented intrusion. Syed Sardar Ahmad said that he would ask the chief minister to raise this issue with all seriousness so that 10 MAF water could flow into the sea.
The senior minister said that, according to the 1997 Revenue Code, there was a provision for providing one-fourth of the land lost by such calamity to the affected people. But this had been done away with and instead 1973's Punjab code had been implemented in which there was no provision for compensation.
He informed the house that out of the total of 4.7 million acres cultivable land in Thatta, at least 25 per cent had been lost to the sea. The survey carried out in 1999 revealed that the sea had swallowed over 1.2 million acres of land but it was surprising that the owners who had lost about 60,000 acres of land from erosion had not approached the government for land in lieu of their land swallowed by the sea, the senior minister pointed out. He said if the haris would apply, they would be provided land as a substitute.
Giving assurances that they were with the effected people, Syed Sardar Ahmad said he was of the view that a hari should get at least 16 cares of land in lieu of the land lost due to sea intrusion. He also assured the house that the committee to be formed for taking up the issue of the effected people would include local MPAs.
In response to another question, the house was informed that considerable acreage of enemy land was available for disposal in 11 dehs of taluka Umerkot. The house was also informed that, according to a statement of conditions, the enemy land situated in districts Tharparkar, Mirpurkhas and Sanghar would be disposed off to haris, small khatedars on 30-year lease.
In reply to another question by Mrs Alwani, the house was informed by minister for social welfare that four women welfare organizations were registered in Thatta district.
They are Women welfare Association, Women Voice Thatta, Larr Women Welfare Organization and Women Industrial Social and Educational Society, Sujawal, which benefited 40, 30, 45 and 60 women respectively from 2000 to 2003.
The house was also informed that at present no Darul Aman existed in District Thatta and as the social welfare department was devolved at the district level, the district government could prepare such a plan.
