November 06, 2008	Thursday	Ziqa'ad 7, 1429

KARACHI, Nov 5: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said that about 92,000-acre land is ready for allotment among families of landless peasants.

Talking to Dawn on Wednesday he said that each family would be allotted 20 acres, adding that the award of allotment letters among peasants would begin from Thatta on November 25.

The chief minister, who had earlier presided over a high-level meeting held to review the progress of land distribution scheme, said the government would not only ensure the provision of land to the landless peasants, preferably women, but also the availability of seed, fertiliser, besides land-levelling and irrigation facilities.

“This will be an important step towards the implementation of the election manifesto of the Pakistan People’s Party given by the party chairperson late Benazir Bhutto,” he said, adding that the government would continue to support the poor, needy and landless families and encourage them to contribute in the country’s progress.

Meanwhile, sources privy to the meeting said the chief minister was informed that 92,000-acre land – 64,717 acres cultivable and 33,000 acres barren – were available in the province for immediate distribution. Of the total, 16600 acres were available in Thatta, 8,240 acres in Khairpur, 835 acres in Larkana, 4,300 acres in Badin, 626 acres in Sukkur, 4,800 acres in Kashmore, and 115 acres in Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto District.

The chief minister directed the officials concerned to start holding public meetings from Nov 15 for selection of genuine landless women peasants through transparent means. He asked the secretaries of agriculture, irrigation and power to ascertain personally or through some responsible officers the condition of the land being distributed and availability of irrigation facility. He asked the officials to approach the respective district coordination officers in this regard.

Mr Shah told participants of the meeting that the cost of land levelling, supply of seed and other inputs would be borne by the government.

Chief Secretary Fazal-ur-Rehman, Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Nazar Hussain Mahar, Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) Ghulam Ali Pasha, Senior Member of the Board of Revenue Ashfaque Memon, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Sohail Akbar Shah, Secretary Agriculture Subhago Khan Jatoi, Secretary Irrigation and Power Shujauddin Junejo, Special Secretary (Finance) Naheed Shah Durrani, CEO of the National Rural Support Programme Rashid Bajwa and others attended the meeting.