PESHAWAR, Jan 1: The NWFP cabinet has upward revised the rates for leasing out state land in an effort to improve resources by renting out the provincial government departments’ land on market rate, official sources told Dawn here on Tuesday.

To streamline the affairs of the province in respect of leasing out state land on suitable rent in future the provincial government, according to sources, had recently formulated a new policy thereunder several committees would be constituted at the district and province levels.

“Market rate would be charged against state land whenever and wherever it would be leased out by any of the department in future,” said the senior government official sources.

At the expiry of any of the lease deed, the subject land would be rented out at the market rate for a period not more than 30 years, inclusive of 15-year extension period, in the case of commercial and residential lands.

Whereas, in the case of agriculture land, lease period would be a maximum of 15 years, inclusive of five-year extension, for the leased out land where improvement would be required or orchards would need to be grown.

According to the new policy, special committees would be constituted in all the districts to separately determine the market rate against which state land and structures would be leased out.

The committee, according to instructions issued by the provincial board of revenue, constituted in every district would comprise the district revenue officer/collector concerned, tehsil municipal officer, representative of the department concerned, a member of the district council or Nazim of the union council in whose jurisdiction the state land is to be leased out and the executive district officer finance/planning.

The decision of every district committee would be implemented after being duly approved by another committee constituted at the provincial level comprising a senior member board of revenue, representative of the department concerned not below the rank of an additional secretary, and a representative of the finance department not below the rank of an additional secretary.

At the district level another committee would be constituted to determine the lease money on market basis at the time of renewing the lease deed at the expiry of any of the existing leases. According to the state land policy, 20 per cent rebate in lease money would be available to all those sitting tenants/lessees in possession of cultivated land for five years at the time of filing an application for the renewal (of the lease deed).

Besides, the new policy also contains that construction of structure on leased state land, in future, would be carried out after prior approval from the authorities concerned. In case of violation of the said rules action would be taken against the lessee and the structure constructed in violation would be removed.