The land revenue records of an area spread over 200 square kilometres along the coastal belt of Sindh have been changed overnight and the Sindh government will soon lay its claim on the lands as government property and evict the local population from their native villages, the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) has alleged in a recent survey.
The construction of a new city in Sindh named Zulfikarabad – as envisioned by President Asif Ali Zardari – is likely to cost the province 480 old settlements, including 17 creeks and six ancient port cities, along a 223-km coastal belt of Thatta and Karachi.
According to the PFF study conducted in district Thatta, a population of 0.235 million will be directly affected due to Zulfikarabad.
“The new city spread from Buhara town in Mirpur Sakro tehsil to Port Qasim, covering a distance of 50 kilometres, includes 80 villages with a population of approximately 90,000 – and from Johu town of Ghorabari tehsil to Bohara town, spanning a length of 37 kilometres, includes 60 villages with 40,000 people,” the survey discloses. “The distance between Torhi town in Kharochhan tehsil to Phat Darya is 25 kilometres which covers over 30 villages with a population of 25,000; whereas the 30 kilometres between Shashjahan Khan town in Shahbunder tehsil to Torhi includes 65 villages with over 20,000 people; and between Zero Gongro in Jati tehsil to Shashjahan Khan covering 57 kilometres comprising 200 villages with 30,000 population.”
Almost all these villages have been there for hundreds of years while historical ports of Sindh Keti Bandar, Sokhi Bandar, Kharochhan, Dandhi jo Bandar, Sherazi Bandar and Shah Bandar, and 17 creeks are also situated in the said area. Many shrines and graveyards have been also annexed with the Zulfikarabad city project.
Meanwhile, the Sindh Revenue Board has altered the records of private lands by reinstating them as property of Sindh government within a short span of time. The revenue record of 80,000 acres of agricultural land in four tehsils across the coastal belt of Thatta has gone missing and registration of various private lands annulled, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The ‘lost’ record of private lands has been sent to the Land Utilisation office, whereas, the land registration records of 13 union councils of Keti Bandar, Kharochhan, Shahbandar and Jati tehsils are also missing.
PFF Chairman Muhammad Ali Shah told Pakistan Today that his organisation will start a mobilisation drive about the ground realities of the project. “Billions of rupees are being spent on establishment of a new city but the people are living without basic necessities in villages.”
