ETPB, railways retrieve land worth billions.

LAHORE -- The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) retrieved its agriculture, residential, and commercial land worth Rs22 billion from land grabbers in 2022. On the other hand, Pakistan Railways (PR) also retrieved its land worth Rs10 billion through operations last year, many backed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

'The properties retrieved are valued at Rs22 billion or so,' ETPB Chairman Dr Habibur Rehman Gilani told Dawn on Tuesday.

The major chunks of the retrieved land included 600 acres in Bhakkar district.

A couple of years ago, the apex court, in a case related to a temple in Karak had ordered a forensic audit of the ETPB properties, their possession, leasing, income, losses, etc. The audit highlighted several properties either in illegal possession or their tenants not paying rent for a long time.

Last year, during a court hearing, the ETPB reportedly apprised the court about the non-cooperation of the police in land retrieval and sought the help of other departments. The court directed the FIA to help ETPB in this regard.

'We can say that the year 2022 remained unprecedented in terms of retrieving the state land,' the ETP chairman said, adding that the operations would remain continuous vigorously in the ongoing year too.

Earlier in a meeting, the ETPB administration said the trust board is a trustee of the services of minorities and religious places of worship in Pakistan. It said a digital library and museum are being established in Nankana Sahib to highlight the historical...