Patwaris minting money with no check

–Blacklisted land record officers alleged of using influence to reappear in desired circles

–Disputed properties, government-owned land being sold as BoR stays silent

–Corrupt patwaris to be held accountable as evidence gathered, assures ACE director

LAHORE: Patwaris working across the provincial capital have become influential and earn a fair amount of money by getting their postings and transfers done in the desired circles where they have deep roots while the Board of Revenue (BoR) appears to have stayed silent over the matter.

According to reliable sources, a number of patwaris were transferred and blacklisted by the board but they returned by using influence in a bid to mint money as they exert power in the buying and selling of properties, and provision of relevant records in their tehsils.

Most patwaris have their own real estate business and can sell even disputed properties or government-owned land on own terms, sources said, adding that there influential backing helps them when they are blacklisted or transferred.

A source privy to the developments said, “Rizwan, a patwari working in the vicinity of Thokar Niaz Beg area, made billions by selling [disputed] properties while no accountability body could get a hold of him as he has powerful support.”

“Similarly, Omer Farooq, another patwari, has become a millionaire by such malpractices. The patwaris of Shalimar, Model Town and Raiwind were transferred to other tehsils but they kept on working in their desired circles as the department is helpless,” sources added.

Moreover, sources said that in most of the urban areas, the data was not being computerised, adding that there were serious errors in the computerised data while ‘Jamabandi’ (land records) are either incomplete or half done for the most part.

“Patwari Iftikhar of Moza Kot Sheikhupura sold the government-owned land illegally on high prices and later disappeared while no authority could find him. He got the fake papers of property transfer and ‘inteqal’ made with the help of revenue officers and no record was entered. Tehsildar Asad Rasheed Butt has also formed a gang of patwaris who deal in sale of disputed properties,” sources alleged.

According to sources, the most influential patwaris since the last 23 years in Lahore include Yaseen, Bahadur Shah, Asif, Ijaz, Riaz, Javed, Khursheed, Rana Farooq, Arif Mayo, Altaf, Khalid Hussain, Ahmed Hassan, Jahanzeb, Qazzafi Shah Din, Muzzaffir, Safeer, Ghulam Ali, Rana Khalil, Muhammad Saleem, Rana Zia, Haji Sakhawat, Shahnawaz, Nadeem, Mushtaq Masih, Malik Mubashar, Arshad Jaga and Mushtaq along with a few others.

While talking to Pakistan Today, Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Lahore region Director Asghar Joyia said his department has received several complaints with evidence and will soon take action against those responsible.

“Our teams are working without any discrimination to eliminate such practices. Such complaints will be handled strictly and as per law,” he assured.