The district administration of Peshawar has taken swift and resolute action in response to a reported land transfer scam involving a substantial expanse of approximately 1,375 kanals of land within a major government housing project.
This diligent response came about after a complaint was lodged on the Pakistan Citizen Portal, triggering an official inquiry into the matter.
The investigation swiftly revealed that the mutations in the Ghari Faizuallah area had been surreptitiously manipulated, and the revenue records had been tampered with, ultimately constituting a fraudulent land transfer that had the potential to cost the exchequer an estimated Rs1 billion.
The investigative process was conducted meticulously by Deputy Settlement Commissioner of Peshawar, Rao Hashim Azeem, who astutely identified the involvement of three revenue officials in this illicit activity.
The land in question, originally designated as community-owned (shamilat), was deceitfully converted into evacuee property and unlawfully transferred to a housing society associated with a provincial government initiative on the outskirts of the city.
In light of these disturbing findings, the implicated officials have been promptly suspended, and the district collector has been urged to review and annul the counterfeit mutations and related intimation letters associated with the fraudulent land transfers. The Peshawar Development Authority, tasked with executing the housing project, has been apprised of these revelations to facilitate appropriate and corrective measures.
Deputy Commissioner Shah Fahad of Peshawar has assured a thorough and expeditious examination of the matter within a two-week timeframe to ensure a just resolution. He emphasized the critical importance of preserving the integrity of revenue transactions, underscoring the administration’s proactive stance in addressing cases of tampering and irregularities.
While this incident pertains to a specific section of land, the district administration has reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to upholding proper revenue administration across the entire region. Fahad revealed that, in the past six months alone, 13 revenue officials have been suspended, and investigations are currently ongoing in 30 other cases involving various instances of malpractice.