Both the treasury and opposition benches in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Tuesday joined hands for revisiting Revenue Act to end rampant corruption and extraordinary influence of Patwaris in the revenue department. Legislators from both the sides held Patwaries responsible for the ongoing corruption and urged the government to take practical steps to curb the menace.
They asked the government to constitute a committee comprising on elected members to present recommendations for a permanent solution of the problem in the department. The legislators continued debate on the topic consecutively for the second day on Tuesday and the Speaker announced to constitute a committee to resolve the issue. Israrullah Khan Gandapore of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-Sherpao and Saqibullah Khan Chamkani of Awami National Party in their joint call attention notice had raised the issue of corruption and irregularities and later turned it into an adjournment motion and admitted for debate. Parliamentary leader of PPP, Abdul Akbar Khan recalled that the Revenue Act had been constituted in 1800 and it is the need of the hour to revisit it in accordance with the existing situation.
Saqibullah Chamkani said the entire revenue machinery had become corrupt due to the corruption of Patwaries. He revealed that departmental inquiry had proved corruption of Patwari and a FIR had also been registered against him at the anti-corruption department but still, the department has issued notification of his appointment.
He called upon the members to make a joint declaration to expose corruption instead of 'closing their eyes' over the ongoing corrupt activities. By computerising the entire record of the revenue department, corruption of Patwaries could be eliminated, he opined.
Expressing his views, Israrullah Khan Gandapore said he had no personal differences with the Senior Member Board of Revenue, but 'had differences with his behaviour of ruling the department'. He asked for constituting a committee of senior members to know as to whether rules are being followed in the revenue department.
Alamgir Khan Khalil, another ruling MPA revealed that one person had offered him rupees three million for posting a patwari, which he rejected but later, the person got the job done by offering Rs 1.2 million to someone else. He claimed that before their appointment, patwaris had nothing but after serving in the revenue department for eight years, they possess land cruisers. He suggested the minister for revenue to resign if he could not transfer a DOR. Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam (Fazl-ur-Rehman)'s Saeeda Batol severely criticised performance of the department and held Patwaries responsible for the corruption and irregularities.
The minister for information, who is also spokesman for provincial government, Mian Iftikhar Hussein admitted that the problem of revenue department is complicated and patwaris are responsible for corruption, adding that government is taking steps to overcome the problem. He assured that the government would hold inquiry as to 'who appointed the patwaris on whose recommendations'.
Speaker Kiramatullah Khan in his ruling said corruption in the revenue department is more dangerous than cancer and government would have to treat the disease. He announced constituting of a committee with the consultation of the House to recommend how to end the existing trend of corruption in the revenue department.