ISLAMABAD: Private individuals and various government departments including defence institutions have encroached on more than 4,000 acres of Pakistan Railways land across the country, the Senate was told on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question from Senator retired Col Syed Tahir Hussein Mashhadi, Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique told members of the upper house that private individuals have encroached on some 3,404 acres of the total 4,197 acres of land which belongs to Pakistan Railways and which is illegally occupied and the rest has been encroached on by various government departments.

According to the minister, the defence department was the third largest encroacher of Pakistan Railways land and is occupying 251 acres of its land.

Giving a province wise breakup, the minister for railways said that in Punjab, more than 1,700 acres of railway land was being illegally occupied by private individuals, in Sindh 1,118 plus acres of land is being occupied and more than 560 in Balochistan and some 11 acres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to the reply submitted in the house, various government departments in Punjab illegally possess more than 271 acres of land and KP government departments are encroaching on more than 224 acres.

Defence departments have taken over more than 172 acres of land without authorisation in Punjab alone. In Balochistan, defence departments occupy 48 acres of Pakistan railways land and another 15 acres in Sindh and 14 in KP.

However, in his written reply, the minister said an anti-encroachment campaign was going on to retrieve railway land.

“A comprehensive policy has been drawn to prevent further encroachments. This policy makes the concerned Pakistan Railway officers and officials jointly responsible in case of any new encroachment,” the reply reads.

Some 1,660 cases were registered and 1,767 persons were arrested during the anti-encroachment operations, it says.

The issue of illegal occupation/possession of Pakistan Railway land by government departments and institutions have also been taken up with concerned departments, the minister has said in his reply.

“The project of computerizing of railways land record was initiated in April 2015. The project is near completion to harmonize the railway land record with the record of all the provincial revenue departments. The project will ensure safeguard of railway land through a mechanized monitoring system and render complete transparency in land management,” the reply submitted in the upper house of parliament reads.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2017