LAHORE: The Punjab government claims that some 84,000 acres of land worth Rs145 billion has been retrieved from land grabbers and encroachers.

Presiding over a marathon meeting to review the ongoing operation against land grabbers on Monday, Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar instructed all the officials concerned to ensure that every inch of the state land should be retrieved from powerful squatters.

He directed that the anti-encroachment operation should not be conducted in katchi abadis as well as against the poor people like daily wagers.

He directed the officials to ensure that the land cleared from grabbers andencroachers should stay and no encroachments should reappear. He said the operation should continue with full vigour, adding that no leniency would be tolerated in action against the big fish.

The chief minister asked the officials to prepare feasible recommendations for the best utilisation of the retrieved properties besides compiling a complete data and record. He said the districts showing best performance in this operation would be encouraged. He directed that district-level anti-encroachment committees should regularly monitor the progress.

Housing minister Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed also attended the meeting. Staff Reporter