On Monday, the Lahore High Court (LHC) reversed its previous ruling that prohibited the Punjab interim government from leasing land in three districts to the Pakistan Army for corporate farming on a twenty-year lease.
Read more with EL news: RMC Declares 88 Buildings Dangerous For Living and Business
The Punjab government signed an agreement in March to transfer at least 45,267 acres of land in three districts, Bhakkar, Khushab, and Sahiwal, to the Pakistan Army for “Corporate Agriculture Farming” (CAF).
Nonetheless, the LHC prevented the interim government from implementing its plan. Judge Abid Hussain Chattha rendered the decision in response to a petition submitted by Ahmad Rafay Alam on behalf of the Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan.
In a comprehensive decision, Judge Chattha ruled that the caretaker government “lacks constitutional and legal authority to make any decision regarding the CAF initiative and policy in any way, pursuant to Section 230 of the Elections Act 2017.”
In April, the caretaker administration of Punjab filed an appeal with the LHC challenging its order to halt the transfer of land to the military.
The listening
During today’s hearing, a two-member division of the LHC, presided over by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, considered the Punjab government’s motion to vacate the court’s order.
Today, Advocate General of Punjab Khalid Ishaq represented the provincial government in court.
In the petition, the interim government of Punjab argued that the court’s ruling was contradictory and that agricultural policy regulation was beyond the court’s jurisdiction.
The appeal argued that the court’s previous decision to halt the transfer of land violated the law. In accordance with the law, the caretaker government is authorised to implement or finalise any outstanding decisions or policies from the previous administration, the statement continued.
The court decided to suspend its previous ruling on the matter after evaluating the petition’s contents.
The contract
According to reliable sources, the agreement had been signed by the military, the government of Punjab, and private corporations involved in corporate farming.
According to the document, the military’s land directorate wrote to the Punjab chief secretary, Board of Revenue and secretaries of the agriculture, forest, livestock and irrigation departments for handing over of 42,724-acre land in tehsils Kaloor Kot and Mankera in Bhakkar, 1,818 acres in tehsils Quaidabad and Khushab in Khushab, and 725 acres in tehsil Chichawatni of Sahiwal.
The Punjab government will provide the land, while the army will utilise its resources and retain project administration, according to sources familiar with the proposed project’s key characteristics.
On the other hand, the private sector will invest and provide auxiliary support, including the supply of fertilisers.
This development was corroborated by military sources who stated that the army “is not assuming ownership of the land, as it will remain the property of the Punjab government.”
They had also stated that the army would transform the majority of uncultivated and undercultivated land into fertile soil.
At least forty percent of the revenue generated from the cultivation was to be allocated to the Punjab government, twenty percent is to be allocated to modern research and development in the agricultural sector, and the remainder is to be used for subsequent harvests and the expansion of the project.
According to the sources, diverse varieties of pulses, millets, and rice were to be cultivated in the first phase of the project. This would be followed by extensive canola and wheat cultivation.