KARACHI: The Sindh government has cancelled a series of land allotments across Karachi and its adjoining districts after they were found to have been issued on the basis of fake, bogus and fabricated documents, following public complaints.
The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has initiated multiple inquiries, recommended cancellation of land entries, and advised legal action against those involved in the managed allotments.
According to official correspondence between Land Utilisation Department and ACE, copies of which are available with The News, several influential individuals and groups had managed to secure massive tracts of land by using fraudulent documents, in some cases stretching back over a decade. The Land Utilisation Department confirmed that in almost all instances, its registers bore no trace of the allotments that were being circulated as valid.
Following the directions of the Sindh government two separate cases has been registered against the officers of the Registration Wing of the Board of Revenue and private persons, while a separate case has also been registered at Police Station Malir Cantonment against a highly influential person, Station House Officer of the same Police Station and private persons allegedly for encroaching and facilitating the land grabbing.
As per some important instances, in Deh Bayal/Boil, of District Malir a 99-year lease of 200 acres allegedly issued in the name of a lady has been declared bogus after no record was found in government registers. The entry in the ‘Record of Rights’ has been cancelled, while an ACE investigation is underway with a report due in two weeks. In Deh Babrano, Karachi, a file regarding the lease of two acres to an influential person was determined to be fake, as there were no entries in the ‘outward/inward’ registers of the Land Utilisation Department.
An inquiry is complete and the matter now awaits approval by the ACC-I (Anti-Corruption Committee-One) for an open inquiry.
In Deh Tore, Karachi, a regularisation order for 24 acres, dating back to 2008, was withdrawn after officials confirmed it was based on fabricated documents. The Record of Rights entry is to be cancelled, while ACE has referred the case to the ACC-II.
In Deh Kharkharo, Karachi, a six-acre allotment was also found to be fake. The case is currently pending before the Sindh High Court, though the Land Utilisation Department has endorsed the complainant’s position.
In Deh Lal Bakhar, District Keamari, Karachi, two massive allotments totalling 550 acres were scrapped after the department confirmed no records existed. Corresponding rights entries have been cancelled. In Deh Konkar multiple allotments made in the name of an influential person were found to be bogus and fabricated. Entries in official land records were struck off, while ACE has completed its open inquiry and referred the case to the ACC-I for further proceedings.
In Deh Salbarani a 12-acre allotment was declared illegal, regularised through fake papers. While the entries have been cancelled, the matter remains sub judice in the Sindh High Court. Officials said the majority of these allotments surfaced when affected citizens and complainants approached the Sindh Government, Board of Revenue, Sindh Land Utilisation department and Sindh Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), alleging that state land was being encroached upon or fraudulently regularised. The Land Utilisation Department, in turn, reviewed its records and confirmed that no valid entries existed for the files being used.
“The modus operandi is almost identical,” said a senior officer of the Sindh BoR familiar with the inquiries on the condition of not to be named.
“Fraudulent files are created, showing land as leased or regularised, often backdated to earlier governments. These are then used to insert entries into revenue records, which later become the basis for transfer, sale, or development.” concluded the same officer.
Sindh has long been plagued by controversies over land management, with successive governments accused of looking the other way while builders, private individuals, and organised land mafias grabbed state land under the cover of manipulated documents.
In Karachi alone, thousands of acres of land in Malir, Keamari, East, West and Korangi has been the subject of disputes between genuine allottees, encroachers, and housing societies.
Investigations by The News in recent years have revealed how influential developers, in collusion with corrupt officials, often regularise such allotments through fabricated notifications. The current move by the Land Utilisation Department, however, marks one of the rare coordinated actions where allotments are being officially cancelled, Record of Rights entries struck off, and cases referred for legal action.
ACE has recommended that Deputy Commissioners of the respective districts to take strict action against managed entries and cancel manipulated mutations. Legal proceedings against those named in the fake allotments are also expected. Officials said the government is considering tightening the scrutiny of land records and digitising allotment registers to prevent recurrence of such scams. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” one ACE official commented. “Hundreds of similar files are under scrutiny, and more cancellations are expected.”
