The caretaker Sindh government has given its approval for the allocation of more than 52,000 acres of state land towards corporate agriculture farming.
This decision, finalized last week, designates specific acreages for this initiative across different regions, including Khairpur, Mithi, Dadu, Sujawal, Thatta, and Badin, reported Geo News.
The allocation falls under the purview of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).
Earlier this year, the chief secretary of Sindh directed the provincial Land Utilization Department and the Board of Revenue to assess the availability of sufficient state land for leasing and utilization in corporate agriculture farming.
To regulate this land grant, the Sindh government has notified a Statement of Conditions under the British-era law, the Colonization of Government Lands Act 1912.
According to this statement, the government-owned land will be leased through an open auction for 20 years to individuals or entities for purposes such as agriculture research, farming, import substitution, and livestock research. In return, the Sindh government is entitled to 33 percent of the profits generated from this project.
The conditions explicitly bar federal and provincial government departments from participating in the open auction, while allowing private companies to bid for the land.
An agenda from a recent Sindh cabinet meeting on December 1 reveals plans to lease the state land to a private company named Green Corporate Initiative Pvt Ltd.
This development in Sindh mirrors a similar corporate farming project in Punjab.
Source: Pro Pakistani