RAWALPINDI, Aug 4: President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday supported the introduction of a contract system in place of the 'battai' system for the Okara military farms, saying the initiative carried many benefits for the lessees.

In an interview with a Dawn panel at his Camp Office in Rawalpindi, the president said the benefits earlier reaped by the middlemen were now going directly to the lessees.

The president said that under the old system the lessee used to share the produce with the government, but now he would pay the lease rent at a rate ranging between Rs2,200 and Rs5,000 per acre. Since lands in the area were not available for less than Rs15,000 an acre, the lessees of the Okara military farms would save Rs10,000 per acre per year.

The president further said that under the old system the lease period was one year while the new system had extended it to seven years. During this period, he said, the lease rate would not be raised, and in case of death of a lessee, his heirs would be entitled to retain the possession.

Rejecting the criticism and protests by some political parties and NGOs, Gen Musharraf said he had changed the system in the interest of the lessees. The new system, the president said, entitled the lessees to 10 per cent of the trees planted after June 20, 2000. Under the old system, trees were the exclusive property of the government.

The president said that under the previous system the cropping programme was controlled by the farm authorities whereas now the lessees were free to sow any crop of their choice.

He said now the water charges and the land revenue of all Okara military farm lands would be paid by the government, not the lessees. The president said receipts from the farms had declined from Rs127.67 million in 1995-96 to only Rs60.67 million in 2002-03. He said the new system would also benefit the government as the receipts would go up.

President Musharraf said the ownership of lands on which the lessees had built their homes would be given to them. Alternatively, their village would be converted into a model village.