Lately, different civil society groups held rallies and programmes to build pressure on the Sindh government to introduce land reforms. A political party has also recently challenged Federal Shariat Court’s decision before apex court, declaring landholding ceiling fixed by the first PPP government in the 1970s to be un-Islamic. The case is pending before the Supreme Court.

In 2008, the Sind government started land distribution for landless peasants which continued till 2010. Official figures show that around 56,186 acres of land were distributed in two phases among 6,100 grantees.

Initially, 17 districts were covered. The programme was to be extended to remaining districts in a subsequent phase. The government provided funds to the new landowners for sometime as per estimated cost of farm inputs at around Rs14,000 to Rs15,000 per acre while, at the same time, ensuring availability of water to the cultivators. A few years ban over sale of land was also stipulated.

Dr Sonu Khangrani – who had worked with provincial government on the programme – says the basic idea behind land distribution was good as it sought to empower rural womenfolk.

That’s why initially when land was handed over to a male member of the family; it was ensured that it should be transferred in the name of woman in the household in record of rights of the revenue department.

“This was to work as a deterrent against economic exploitation of rural women and that they should feel economically comfortable, empowered and secure”, Dr Sonu remarks.

Of an earmarked amount of Rs600 million, Sindh government had reportedly released Rs300 million. And, out of Rs300 million, Rs220 million were to be distributed for farm inputs. Such inputs were provided for four- acre piece of land allotted to each landless peasant. Originally, under the programme, 16 acres were to be distributed in barrage area, and 25 acres in non-irrigated areas.

“We had proposed that whatever land is available should be distributed and government should avoid giving it in pieces to a single grantee. It initially worked well but then came the super floods and the entire land could not be distributed”, Sonu said, adding that subsequent issue- -litigation--served as an irritant to farmers.

But it seems that everything didn’t work the way government had planned. An NGO, Policy Development Institute, in its study, noted that land given to allottees involved multiple issues.

There were more than one claimants over allotted land and granted land was either devoured by sea in coastal districts or fell in the precincts of graveyard. Only in Umerkot, according to labour/peasant leader, Punhal Sario, 25 such cases are pending before additional deputy commissioner of the district and women peasants lack money to pursue cases in revenue department by visiting them off and on.

“These issues are also reported in districts like Thatta and Shikarpur. Such litigations are still making things difficult for women peasantry. Women can’t shunt between different offices to establish their claim over land”, Sario says.Although government hasn’t ended the programme, it is yet to start its third phase. The Sindh Government is said to have identified 85,000 acres of land for distribution at the very outset of the programme.

Different private surveys reveal that identification of land and distribution was not done in line with required guidelines and everything was left to revenue department officials. The officers also worked under political influence.

Secondly, according to Dr Sonu, the government should continue with input distribution for some time to the grantees of land to keep their economic cycle going and to enable them become self-reliant in cultivating their small landholdings on their own. They should be assisted in developing clusters to support each other for selling their produces and opting methods of modernised farming on cost sharing basis.