HYDERABAD, Sept 3: The Hyderabad circuit bench of the Sindh High Court on Friday ordered disciplinary action and prosecution against the Mukhtiarkar of Thana Bula Khan and Tapedars of Dehs Kalo Kohar and Hathal Buth for corruption.

Mr Justice Amir Hani ordered the action after Sindh Advocate General (AAG) Masood A. Noorani said in a report that the land record concerned was fraught with interpolation and forgery, and called for an strict action to put things on right tract.

The court has also restrained anti-corruption establishment (ACE) officials from entertaining private complaints regarding entries in the revenue record belonging to private persons, saying that it was beyond their authority.

The court noted that it had been observed that ACE officials were exceeding their jurisdiction and entertaining anonymous applications and spy reports. They could entertain complaints about government lands, subject to sanction by the administrative head of the revenue department or by the Sindh chief secretary, the court said.

The advocate general has said in the report: "It can be safely concluded that record is fraught with interpolation/forgeries/alteration/replacement of new pages in place of old printed ones, and it appears that the government land worth billion of rupees have been grabbed and dispensed with by the authority concerned in collusion with land mafia. This problem requires drastic/sweeping actions to make the things straight".

He submitted that 20 entries of the record of rights were fictitious. They had no original source and were untenable in law, he said. Passing a detailed order while conducting suo motu proceedings in a bail application of a Tapedar, the court said the Mukhtiarkar and Tapedars would not be given any field postings unless they were exonerated by the enquiry officer and courts concerned.

Senior Member of the Board of Revenue Mirza Karim Baig, who will carry out the court orders, said he had recently taken over charge of the office and was planning to computerize entire revenue record of Sindh.

He admitted to having received serious complaints about tampering with and forgery in the record of rights. The member vowed to constitute district level committees within four weeks to scrutinize and update the revenue record.

An action would be taken after submission of their reports, he added. Revenue officers in districts would be directed to undertake periodical inspection of the record to avoid tampering or forgery in future transactions, he assured the court.