RAHIM YAR KHAN: A 3-kanal prime location plot in Khanpur city has been a point of conflict for the past 25 years between the irrigation department and a neighbouring town owner.

The alleged lack of interest by the tehsil administration and the irrigation department has lingered the issue.

The land is adjacent to the Land Record Centre in Khanpur and enclosed by a boundary wall. The piece of land been claimed by both the irrigation department and the town owner. According to Khanpur Irrigation Sub-Divisional Officer Muhammad Khalid, the plot was in the department’s possession before 2000. Then, town owner Rasheed filed an application with the Khanpur assistant commissioner (AC) for the demarcation of the land.

The irrigation department requested that the demarcation be completed using the latest machinery, however, after the manual demarcation, the then deputy commissioner (DC) ordered the AC to hand over the land to Rasheed, Mr Khalid added.

The irrigation department later approached the Board of Revenue (BoR) in Lahore, which overturned the DC’s orders and decided in favour of the irrigation department after a new demarcation. Mr Rasheed, however, filed a writ petition in civil court claiming that the demarcation had already been completed by the AC.

After an 11-year legal battle, the civil court in 2011 issued a decree in favour of Rasheed, declaring the BoR’s decision null and void. In 2018, Rasheed filed a writ petition with the Lahore High Court (LHC) if Bahawalpur Bench against the AC’s reluctance to hand over the land.

The LHC directed the AC to give possession of the land to Mr Rasheed, but the AC failed to implement the court’s order.

Mr Rasheed filed a contempt of court petition against the AC. The irrigation department responded by filing three different appeal petitions in the sessions court, LHC Bahawalpur Bench and the Supreme Court, but all were dismissed by 2022.

Following the disposal of the appeals, Mr Rasheed invited irrigation department officials to conduct a new demarcation of the land using GPS. As a result, the AC Khanpur handed over two kanals to Mr Rasheed. However, Mr Rasheed again approached the DC for a fresh demarcation.

Repeated attempts to contact the town owner’s spokesperson, Fahad Saeed, for comment were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to calls. When contacted, Senior Engineer Khalid Mehmood told this correspondent that the dispute over the prime irrigation land persists. He added that the Khanpur executive engineer (EXEN) would soon provide an explanation. However, three days have passed, and the EXEN has yet to respond.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2025