The General Headquarters Lands Directorate has requested that the Punjab BoR hand over 45,267 acres of state land to the Pakistan Army for corporate agriculture farming.
The General Headquarters Lands Directorate has requested that the Punjab Board of Revenue hand over 45,267 acres of state land to the Pakistan Army for corporate agriculture farming.
The Director General Strategic Projects, Pakistan Army, has requested the handover of state lands in three districts of Punjab, including Bhakkar, Khushab, and Sahiwal, in a letter addressed to the Member (Colonies), Board of Revenue, Punjab.
The letter referred to SOCs as per Punjab government notification number 197-2023/0334-CS.II(IX) dated February 20, 2023, and the JV Management Agreement as of March 8, 2023.
It further stated, “While signing the JV Management Agreement on March 8, 2023, it was decided that state lands immediately required for the project be handed over to the Pakistan Army.”
The lands may be handed over for corporate agriculture farming as per details including; (a) 10,273 acres of Livestock department in Rakh Ghulaman Mouza of tehsil KallorKot in district Bhakkar on 17th March 2023; (b) 23,027 acres of Forest department in Rakh Gohar Wala of tehsil KallorKot in district Bhakkar on 18th March 2023; (c) 9,424 acres of Livestock department in Rakh Mahni of tehsil Mankera in district Bhakkar on 15th March 2023; (d) 981 acres of Livestock department in Chak 61 MB of tehsil Khushab in district Khushab on 17th March 2023; (e) 837 acres of Agriculture department in Chak 5 MB of tehsil Quaidabad in district Khushab on 18th March 2023, and (f) 725 acres of provincial government in Chak 13/11L of tehsil Chichawatni in district Sahiwal on 15th March 2023.
The letter also stated that departments may keep portions based on their needs/research needs. However, research proposals along the following lines may be shared for better management: (a) project name, (b) project purpose, (c) land required for achievement of the goal, (d) funds required/funded by, and (e) time required to complete the project.
Military sources told media that the land in question is mostly barren, ancient, and uninhabited. The Punjab government will temporarily give it to the army in order to cultivate it through a joint venture.
This means that the Punjab government will retain possession and ownership of the land. Poor land reforms, ineffective agricultural policies, climate change, and a rising population have reduced the agriculture sector’s annual growth rate in Pakistan’s economy from 4% in 1960 to 2.5% in 2022.
To address this situation, the Punjab government has devised a strategy to restore the agriculture sector with the assistance of the Pakistan Army.
As part of this project, the Punjab government’s barren lands will be made cultivable, and the production of low-yielding lands will be increased. They claimed that the army’s involvement would only be to provide a unified administrative structure.
The local population will carry out the project’s implementation and agricultural activities, and the people of the villages will have a source of income close to home. They claimed that by employing modern agricultural methods, machinery, and high-quality seeds, agricultural production would skyrocket.
The first phase of the project will involve the cultivation of various varieties of pulses, millets, and rice. This will be followed by large-scale canola and wheat cultivation. They also stated that 40% of the crop’s revenue will go to the Punjab government, with the remaining 20% going to modern agricultural research and development. And the remaining 40% will be used for the next crop and project expansion.
In a few months, the project is expected to generate billions of dollars in revenue for the provincial government. According to sources, the Army will not receive any revenue share from this project.