KARACHI, Feb 21: Sindh Revenue Minister Dr Irfan Gul Magsi has released a list of 98 persons who had either grabbed a piece of the state land or using one for some purpose other than what it had been allotted to them for on a 30-year lease. In most cases, the plots are being used as a farm house, cottage, water park, motel, hotel or sheds with boundary walls.

The 98 cases detected so far by the revenue officials pertain only to the Gadap Town and 23 of them appeared the fit cases of landgrabbing.

In the last week of January, a massive land scam involving over Rs81 billion had come to light and it had transpired that more than 23,000 acres of government land in the 18 towns of Karachi, besides more then 18,000 square yards of the city survey, had been grabbed by unscrupulous people, believed to be those associated with the land mafia, through manipulation of the revenue record.

Dr Magsi presided over a high-level meeting in his office and released the list to the press. He said all pieces of the state land encroached upon anywhere in the province would be retrieved. For the purpose, he said, an operation had already been launched.

He said some of those named in the list were ruling party officials.

The list has been sent to President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Chief Minister Dr Arbab Rahim for further directives regarding any action against them.