ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration has recovered around 15,000 kanals of state land from encroachers and land grabbers during the last year including 8,000 kanals of forest land.
“Some 1,000 acres (8,000 kanals) of forest land have been handed over to the Punjab Forest Department on which massive forestation is being carried out,” Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat told APP.
He said the Punjab Forest Department was installing boundary pillars around the recovered land to avert the re-emergence of encroachers.
Similarly, some 7,000 kanals of land was freed from illegal possession of land grabbers including eight-kilometres patch on the Kashmir Highway, and 20 km in Tarnol and Rawat, GT Road.
Hamza said some 500 shops along the GT road had also been demolished to clear the right of way. The land related to the right of way had been handed over to the National Highway Authority (NHA), which would be utilized for developing road infrastructure in the area, he maintained.
He said around 600 acres of land in Tumair had also been recovered that were still being demarcated by the Survey of Pakistan.
Moreover, some 250 kanals of land of the Quid-e-Azam University (QAU) had also been given to the varsity’s administration after removing encroachments.
The deputy commissioner said the city administration had also handed over some 2,700 kanals of land of the Botanical Gardens in Bani Gala to the Directorate of Environment of Municipal Corporation of Islamabad after building a boulevard around it.
He said that the Capital Development Authority had also been given 3,000 kanals of land after demolishing illegal buildings in the sector E-12 of Islamabad.
400 kanals of land on the embankment of the Korang river had also been retrieved during the anti-encroachment drive.
To a query, he said the local administration in collaboration with other stakeholders conducted anti-encroachment on regular basis and committed to free all the possessed state land from encroachers.
Hamza said some 3,000 kanals of state land is still in illegal possession in the federal capital which was currently under litigation.
Highlighting its future plan with regard to the anti-encroachment drive, he said the administration would soon launch a massive campaign to recover land from encroachers in multiple sectors of Islamabad including C-14, F-13, D-13.
