HYDERABAD, Jan 15: The senior member, Board of Revenue, Sindh, Manzoor Hussain Bhutto, has said that 38,568 acres of land has been resumed and allotted to 3,458 haris after the lifting of ban last year.

He was speaking at a news conference at the Board office here on Tuesday.

He said that in addition to 200,000 acres around 750,000 acres of state land was available, which would be distributed among the eligible haris in due course.

The Board of Revenue, Sindh, was established in 1970 to look after the revenue assessment, water charges, maintenance of record of rights and disposal of state land among the haris.

He said that the haris, who were cultivating the land, were given preference in the allotment of lands and added that the Board of Revenue would ensure the registration of documents and setting up of villages under the Gothabad scheme.

He said that the board was also entrusted with the work of relief operation in the calamity affected areas of Thar and Kohistan.

He said that notwithstanding 50 per cent remission to the growers in water charges and agriculture tax due to natural calamity, the broad had collected Rs450 million revenue during 2000-2001, which was a record. In the previous year the maximum recovery was only Rs200 million. It was due to the streamlining of procedure that record recovery had been made, he added.

He said that in consultation with the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, Sindh Abadgar Board and the Reformers, a new agricultural income tax ordinance had been promulgated under which the farmers who derived an income of Rs80,000 per year had to pay additional tax.

He said that a record recovery of Rs1,777m had been made as stamp duty in 2000-2001 and Rs254 million had been recovered as registration fee.