August 05, 2008	Tuesday	Sha'aban 2, 1429

THATTA, Aug 4: The Forest Department has asked 130, mainly pro-Shirazi, landlords to vacate over 3,000 acres of forest land they have encroached upon over the years, a move seen by Shirazi leaders as part of political victimisation by the government.

According to sources in the department, in 18 dehs of Thatta taluka, the department owns 54,062 acres of land of which 3,389 acres are in Jonas deh, 782 acres in Takani, 2,298 acres in Chhachh, 4,092 acres in Garko, 1,078 acres in Old Kotri, 5,618 acres in Bao Purandas, 1,921 acres in Aghmani, 2,846 acres in Bijora, 6,288 acres in Aali Soomro, 338 acres in Tarikhi, 1,536 acres in Korri, 4,068 acres in Hatri, 2,320 acres in Sonda, 650 acres in Shanjani, 2,003 acres in Shaloko, 313 acres in Old Chilliya, 9,742 acres in Belo Veeran, 3,680 acres in Larkha.

The forest officers put the size of encroached land at 3,000 acres only while according to an independent survey influential landlords of the area had occupied over 10,000 acres of land.

According to Forest Policy 2004, the department can lease only 40 acres of land to one person and makes it binding on the lessee to carry out plantation on 20 per cent area of the leased land. But no allottee bothers to carry out plantation under the policy.

The department’s move to get the land vacated led to a tense situation in the area and the forest officials, too, were reluctant to enter the katcha area to auction the crops sown on the occupied land for fear of armed men deployed on the land to safeguard the crops worth millions of rupees.

Chief Conservator of Sindh Forests had through a letter directed to auction crops of 130 people on Aug 12 in Thatta.

The letter said that the defaulter and the owners of the crops would not be eligible to take part in bids.

Majority of the people who had occupied lands took the stand that the land had been granted to them on lease.

MNA Ayaz Shah Shirazi and MPA Shah Hussein Shah Shirazi had alleged a couple of days ago at a press conference that their supporters who had been granted forest land on lease were being subjected to political victimisation though they had got the state land on lease.