HYDERABAD: A division bench of Sindh High Court`s Hyderabad circuit comprising Justice Nadeem Akhtar and Justice Khadim Hussain Tunio has directed the Sindh chief secretary to appear in person before the court on March 9 at 11am with a detailed report regarding status of `service centre` and the particular functions being carried out by it at present. If the centre is not yet functional, the reasons for the same be given, the bench said.The order was passed on a petition filed by Irshad Ahmed Qazi, who prayed the court that respondents -chief secretary, secretary Board of Revenue (BoR) and senior member BoR should be directed to implement the Sindh Land Revenue (Amendment) Act, 2013 whereby a new sub-section, 23-A, was inserted in Section 4 of Sindh Land Revenue Act, 1967.

The Section 23-A reads that `Service Centre` means a centre established for maintaining computerised record of rights of a particular district or talukaor providing service for mutation, transfer, execution and registration of deeds, certified copies of computerised record of rights and other matters connected to the computerised record of right.

The petitioner said that despite passage of about 10 years, the service centre defined in Section 23-A had not been established/ activated as envisaged in the said Act. He said due to unreasonable delay and inaction on the part of the respondents, public at large was being seriously prejudiced.

The court noted that a bare read-ing of amendments made through above-mentioned Amendment Act 2013 showed that the purpose of establishing a service centre, on the one hand, was to maintain computerised record of rights in order to avoid manipulation therein and, on the other, to facilitate access of land owners and their tranferees and legal heirs to such record without hindrance.

The Act also seeks changes therein expeditiously and accurately. If service centre has not yet been activated as averred by the petitioner, then it is a matterof grave concern. The court expressed its concern over the factthatnone oftherespondents had filed comments/reply to assist the court although they were on notice.

The court observed that `as matter involves valuable vested rights of people having properties in Sindh, we are of the view that Chief Secretary Sindh is right person to assist the court as to the progress made in establishing and activating the Service Center and if the same has not been established and/or activated to explain reasons thereof.