BAHAWALPUR, Nov 17 A few ruling members of the Punjab Assembly (MPAs) are reportedly eying 600 acres of the Government Regional Agriculture Research Station in Model Town-A here, Dawn has learnt.

These MPAs have forwarded a plan to the Punjab government to initiate a project on the land of the research station to provide residential plots to homeless people, allocating a lion's share for their kin and themselves. The proposed colony will be set up on vast tracts of the institute land lying at the back of Bhutta colonies from Model Town to Karachi Bypass.

It is learnt that MPAs have succeeded in influencing Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif who has reportedly asked the agriculture secretary to examine the proposal. If the plan is executed, the institution providing guidance to farmers for the last 40 years will be shifted somewhere in the desert of Cholistan.

Research Station Regional Director Niaz Ahmad Chaudhry confirmed the report, saying the agriculture secretary had informed him that an official namely Nazar Muhammad Chohan from the Punjab Privatisation Board would visit the station soon to examine the land and submit a report to the government.

The research station was established in 1952 on a small scale in Khanpur. In 1969, it was shifted to Bahawalpur with 611 acres at its disposal to carry out research on various crops. Presently, the station has 14 departments working on wheat, cotton, sugar, dates, vegetables, horticulture, jojoba, agronomy, gouar and soil testing. A pesticides laboratory has recently been completed at a cost of Rs100 million.

Dawn learnt the research station had introduced several seed varieties last year, especially of wheat and cotton.

The regional director said 11 wheat varieties evolved by the station had been introduced in the country in the previous years. He said a new wheat variety, Aas, with a potential of 7,000 kilo per hectare was recently evolved here and was awaiting government's approval for introduction.

Horticulture Director Mushtaq Ahmad Alvi told Dawn that in 2003, a date-palm farm with 32 varieties was developed on 25 acres costing Rs10.82 million. Last summer, the farm sold dates worth Rs1 million. He said in the next 10 to 15 years, 50,000 suckers would also bring revenue at the rate of Rs300 each. He said in the next five years, the farm would be in profits. The closure or shifting of the research station would affect 200 employees.