Allotment of seventy thousand acres of forest land cancelled

Karachi: The Sindh cabinet on Monday cancelled allotment of 70,000 acres of forest land – a news source reported.

The cabinet meeting, presided by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, also approved an operation to retrieve forest land from illegal occupants.

Forest Minister Syed Nasir Shah informed the participants that the authorities concerned had retrieved 13,000 out of 145,245 acres from land grabbers.

Read: Hundreds of thousands of acres usurped by land mafia

The chief minister directed the department to collaborate with the security forces to seize the remaining forest land.

The Supreme Court had last week expressed concerns over the dismal state of forest land in Sindh. It questioned the provincial government about its policy on the issue.

The petitioner, Qazi Athar, informed the three-judge SC bench that former chief minister Qaim Ali Shah did not get a satellite survey of the land conducted.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, will conduct the case proceedings on January 9.