The Pakistan Railways (PR) administration has failed to get its 3,055 acres of land worth of billions of rupees vacated from grabbers. The PR administration has also failed to get full rent of its land from provinces.
Sources privy to the matter say the PR can put an end to its lingering crisis once it gets back its land worth billons of rupees. According to an estimate over 4,220 acres of PR land is under illegal occupants and various government departments. Around 1,150 acres of land has been encroached by government departments, 3,070 acres of land is in illegal possession of individual grabbers.
Around 396 acres of land is occupied in Peshawar, 103 acres in Rawalpindi, 2,420 acres in Lahore, 230 acres in Multan, 260 acres in Sukkur, 245 acres in Karachi and 566 acres in Quetta. Sources say currently the PR is facing losses worth Rs 32 billion while the real worth of its land was far more than that. They say if the PR sells it land on an open market rate or give it on lease, it can generate hefty revenue and consequently it will be possible for the department to overcome its present deficit.
Pakistan Railways Additional General Manager (AGM) Anjum Pervaiz told Pakistan Today that the PR had been working on a joint procedure order and according to that the railway administration and railway police were working together against illegal occupants. He said the Pakistan Army was using over 100 acres of PR land while Rangers had 850 acres of land. He said the PR would hold meetings with those institutions at the end of this month to reevaluate the terms and conditions on usage of railway land. He said the PR would be dealing the land grabbers with iron hand.
It is relevant to mention here that the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly had also told the Pakistan Railways chairman to formulate a policy to vacate its land from the occupation of government departments as well as the land grabbing mafias.
