MITHI, Jan 20: Sindh Minister for Revenue Dr. Irfan Gul Magsi has said that the government has decided to award free of cost "sanads" (land ownership certificates) to the residents of 36,000 villages of the province under Gothabad Scheme.

The minister said while speaking at a sanads distribution ceremony in Malanhore Veena village near Mithi on Saturday that though a large number of rural populace had been living in villages for centuries but most of them had no documents to prove they owned the land on which they had their homes.

The revenue department under directives of chief minister had now started awarding them free of cost sanads, which was no less than an achievement, he said.

It was for the first time in the country’s history that a huge sum of Rs30 billion had been earmarked for the development of province and the credit went to Chief Minister Dr. Arbab Ghulam Rahim, who had bravely fought Sindh’s case, he said.

District Nazim Arbab Anwar said that Tharparkar district had been completely ignored by successive governments in the past but now it had canal water provided through pipes, a vast network of metalled roads and electricity besides other facilities as a result of chief minister’s efforts.

Responding to the villagers’ demands, the nazim assured that a road would be constructed in the Malanhore Veena village and the village would soon be electrified.

Mithi Taluka Nazim Haji Allah Dino demanded that the disposal of Foti Khatas and Yaksalas should be made through open kutchehries and measures should be taken to protect traditional grazing pastures.

Earlier, Gothabad Scheme Project Director Abdul Jabbar Abbasi informed the minister that Sindh government had though decided in 1987 to award sanads to all the villages but a survey conducted later recommended 36,000 out of 66,000 villages for sanads and the government approved that 10,000 villages would get the certificates in the first phase. The scheme remained suspended for more than 10 years before the present government revived it, he said.

MPA Abdul Razzaq Rahoomo, District Naib Nazim Abdul Karim Rahoomo, DCO Asadullah Dharejo, EDO Revenue Tariq Khokhar and a large number of officials and villagers attended the sanads distribution ceremony.