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HYDERABAD, March 8: As budget for current financial year has been exhausted, alternative steps are being taken to ensure payment for land acquisition, which may be made by September.
This was said by Sindh Advocate General Anwar Mansur at the Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit bench, here the other day.
The AG was responding to the queries of the court about payment of over Rs2.1 million as a land acquisition award to four petitioners.
The AG, who appeared before the court in response to a notice, expressed his inability regarding any interim payment for the time being. He, however, said that the matter could be looked into sympathetically and if possible, some part payment might be released.
The court was hearing a contempt of court application against provincial irrigation secretary and additional chief secretary, planning and development.
The application followed a constitutional petition, filed by Ayaz Ali, his three brothers and mother, whose agricultural land was acquired by the irrigation department for facilitating construction of a new irrigation channel in Matiari taluka. Their land was used for construction of a road from Tando Adam-Bhit Shah road to Kumb Daru.
The matter was referred to the revenue department and the land acquisition officer who passed the final award on July 27, 1992 at the rate of Rs45,000 per acre. The land was, however, acquired in 1995.
According to the petitioners, they were not paid a single penny till 2000 and Rs21.42 million was to be paid by the respondents.
SINDHI LANGUAGE: Classes for learning Sindhi language will start from April 1 in Karachi and Hyderabad, the Sindh Language Authority announced.
A spokesman for the Authority said that admission forms and other relevant information could be obtained from Agha Noor Mohammad Pathan, resident director of the Academy of Letters, in Karachi. People, the spokesman said, should get in touch with the in- charge of the Sindhi class at the office of the Authority in Hyderabad.
