Sindh govt signs deal to launch corporate farming

• Govt to allot land not located in prohibited areas.
• Ownership to remain with Sindh govvernment.
• 20% of profit to be spent on development, 40% to Sindh govt.

After Punjab, the military is set to launch corporate farming in Sindh as well as a government-to-government (G2G) joint venture agreement was signed between the provincial government and M/S Green Corporate Initiative (Pvt.) Limited, reported The News on Saturday.

The company operates under the military’s umbrella for corporate agriculture farming over available barren land in all the provinces.

Caretaker Sindh Revenue Minister Younus Dhaga announced the agreement during a press conference at the CM House on Friday. He was accompanied by Caretaker Law Minister Omar Soomro, Information Minister Muhammad Ahmad Shah, and Major General Shahid Nazeer.

The initiative is part of one of the projects launched under the Special Investment Facilitation Council’s (SIFC) umbrella. 

The council was formed under Chapter IIA of the Board of Investment Ordinance 2001 introduced through an amendment act passed by the Parliament last year. 

All the chief ministers and chief secretaries of provinces have been notified as members of the SIFC Apex Committee and Executive Committee respectively.

The federal and provincial governments, including the then-elected Sindh government, decided to introduce the initiative of corporate agriculture farming (CAF) in all the provinces of Pakistan.

As a pilot project, the deputy commissioners of the relevant areas have identified barren land measuring approximately 52,713 acres for the initiative. 

Out of the 52,713 acres, 28,000 acres are in Khairpur, 10,000 acres in Tharparkar, 9,305 acres in Dadu, 1,000 acres in Thatta, 3,408 acres in Sujawal and 1,000 acres in Badin.

As per the agreement, the land will be given to the army for more than 20 years after a survey, demarcation and verification. It would be ensured that the land is not located in prohibited areas, does not face any pending litigations or court orders and also not included in any barrage land grants.

Survey will also ensure that no land is considered fall within the limits of any villages, katchi abadi, locality, temporary shelters, grazing land, seasonal cultivation area, range, any settlement, amenity land, potential mining areas, already reserved land for any public purposes, motorways, superhighways, national highways, roads, jails, railway lines, irrigation channels, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, mountain ranges, heritage sites, religious sites, graveyards, forest land including mangroves habitats and protected forests, wastelands, wetlands, “dhoras”/depressions, sea-creeks, river deltas, inland waters, internal waters, historical waterways, vital security installations, port and sea shore.

Under the agreement, the Green Corporate Initiative Ltd will spend 20% of the net profit on research and development in the local area while 40% will be paid to the Sindh government annually.

Meanwhile, the remaining 40% of the company’s profit will be spent on local infrastructures, irrigation channels, solar-powered water supply schemes, schools, hospitals, development schemes and other facilities in areas where such projects will be executed in the Sindh province.

The publication also reported that the land will not be granted as a title and will be specially assigned for cultivation. The ownership of the land will also remain with the Sindh government. No local rights will be affected by the projects. No water rights of the local population shall be affected.

For the project, a Board of Management has been established under the Sindh chief secretary, which will take all decisions regarding land management and land issues for executing the project.