MUZAFFARGARH: A nexus of local politicians and district officials, allegedly involved in the embezzlement of Sardar Kauray Khan Jatoi Trust funds and land, have long been evading action.

Recently, the National Accountability Bureau authorised an inquiry against the officers and officials of the district councils and land revenue departments of Muzaffargarh and Rajanpur for embezzling revenue collection and management of land donated by Sardar Kauray Khan Jatoi. Before NAB took up the case, more than three dozen cases relating to land grab andfraud in revenue had been registered with Jatoi and Alipur police stations but in vain.

Sadar Kauray Khan had donated about84,000 1(anals to the district council more than a century back. The district government took control of it when PPP`s Abdul Qayyum Jatoi took charge of the district nazim of fice in 2005.

An official told Dawn that in the period of Sultan Hunjra as district nazim (20002005), Rs3 million were collected each year.

Acting district nazim Allah Dad Khar, who took over in 2008 when Mr Jatoi was elected MNA, also wrote many letters to the authorities about the mismanagement and flawed revenue collection but all in vain.

Later on, no revenue or funds were collected.

Sardar Kauray Khan had donated land for the welfare of district people and to provide free education to the poor people whereas the administration opened schools in four tehsils named after the philanthropists where students are charged heavyfees. The administration only awarded a few scholarships in the name of the Sardar to outstanding students. Besides, there was no welfare work done on the land.

In2013,then districtcoordination ofñcer (DCO) Farasat Iqbal made a special team under then executive district officer (finance) Tanvir Iqbal and the land superintendent who, with the help of police, took action against land grabbers and retrieved 44,000 kanals. Cases were also registered against theland grabbers.

Mr Iqbal also suspended the land superintendent and imposed heavy fine on him and also wrote letters to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for action.

The charge of the trust land and funds was given to land superintendent, Rafique Gujjar, who collected some money and auctioned a large portion of the land. The superintendent faced resistance from someMPAs and landlords.

Mr Gujjar said he had got the trust land record computerised this year and he had written letters to his high-ups against the attitude ofpoliticians andland grabbers.

An official claimed that 6,000 kanal was still in control of the land grabbers because some politicians and administration officials had changed its status into river land.

The lawyers of Muzaffargarh had moved the Supreme Court regarding the case which had launched an inquiry into the case. The case is being probed by NAB.

Iqbal Buzadar, the assistant commissioner of tehsil Jatoi, recently transferred to Bahawalnagar, said he had taken action againstthelandgrabbersandrecoveredthe revenue by picking up crops from the land grabbers. However, he did not say how much acres he had retrieved from the land grabbers.