During numerous anti-encroachment operations across the nation, Pakistan Railways has successfully reclaimed 986 acres of its land from land squatters, totaling millions of rupees.
A Ministry of Railways official told APP that “around 484 acres were recovered in Punjab, 141 acres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 335 acres in Sindh, and barely 26 acres in Balochistan.”
3,287 acres of land were allegedly being encroached upon in Punjab, 832 acres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 5,180 acres in Sindh, and 687 acres in Balochistan, according to him.
According to the official, in response to the Supreme Court’s orders, anti-encroachment operations to recover encroached railway land were started throughout the entire railway network, and a joint procedure order was issued to all Divisional Superintendents to retrieve railway land from encroachment.
According to the joint procedural order, “anti-encroachment schedules, on a three-month basis, are being produced and communicated to those parties,” the source stated.
In order to recover its land from various people, organisations, and even businesses that had been using it for residential, commercial, and agricultural purposes for decades, he claimed that Pakistan Railways had also decided to speed up its ongoing anti-encroachment operation against land grabbers throughout the country.
The Railway Police and district administrations of the appropriate provincial governments will cooperate in the commencement of the encroachment operation, he continued.
He said that the government was taking various measures to reclaim encroached land from land speculators, including a thorough survey being conducted to identify the encroached land, occupied by people, and under illegal possession by several government departments.
According to the official, First Information Reports (FIRs) are being filed, cases are being registered, and they are being forwarded to PR Judicial Judges for quick trials.
He further said that the issue of government agencies’ and institutions’ illegitimate possession and occupation of Pakistan Railways’ land has been brought up with the relevant agencies.
According to the official, PR was the owner of 167,690 acres of land nationwide, of which 90,326 acres were in Punjab, 39,428 acres were in Sindh, 28,228 acres were in Balochistan, and 9,708 acres were in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.