The Supreme Court on Friday directed Advocate General Sindh to furnish, till January 11, terms and conditions, aims and objectives and market prices of the state land allotted at throwaway prices during last ten years.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was informed that 1500 persons were allotted thousands of acres of state land in Sindh during last ten years. Appearing on notice, Advocate General Sindh Yousaf Leghari told the court that the state land was allotted at throwaway prices. It could have fetched enough money to pay off provincial government loans if the land had been sold at market price.
The bench comprising chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed and Justice Rahmat Hussain Jafferi was hearing a suo motu case pertaining to regularisation of 50 acres of state land, causing huge fiscal loss to the national exchequer.
During the course of hearing, the Chief Justice expressed dismay questioning how the Sessions Judge Hanif Solangi, Ghotki DCO Zahid Hussain Abbasi and Additional Secretary Revenue, Sindh, Muhammad Ali Shah were still working at their posts, who were earlier served contempt notices for violating the apex court orders in the same land case.
On last hearing, the court had directed the Sindh government to present last ten years' record of the sale of land across the province. The court had also directed the Sindh home department to present a detailed report on the controversial allotment of 50 acres of state-owned land in Karachi adjacent to super highway, to a private party at throwaway prices.
Former Sindh chief minister Abdullah Shah had allotted two pieces of land measuring 20 and 30 acres to one Ghulam Mustafa Memon in 1994 in Karachi Scheme 33 at Rs 10 per sq yard. However, the Sindh High Court's Ehtisab Bench had cancelled the lease agreement in 1999, which was also upheld by a two-member bench of the Supreme Court. Ghulam Mustafa Memon then approached the Supreme Court in 1999 but his petition was dismissed.