A dysfunctional monitoring system and alleged negligence by administrative officers have led to large-scale revenue theft in the provincial capital. An inspection audit conducted by the Board of Revenue’s Audit Tehsildar Team has revealed numerous cases of illegal land transfers and fee evasion.
In the Model Town Tehsil’s Patwar Circle, Ichhra, Patwari Abdullah Goraya has been found transferring six kanals and eight marlas of provincial government land in violation of established laws. This illegal transfer was carried out using a Permanent Transfer Deed (PTD) without proper verification or adherence to legal procedures.
The inspection further revealed that during the verification process for the PTD transfer, no minutes of the meeting were issued by the Secretary Settlement and Rehabilitation Office, nor was the PTD document verified. Additionally, another piece of provincial government land in Gulberg was illegally transferred under Mutation Number 60409 without obtaining prior approval from Additional Deputy Commissioner Revenue (ADCR) Suhaib Butt.
According to the audit and inspection report, Patwari Abdullah Goraya, along with Revenue Officers Haseeb Ahmed, Malik Muhammad Iqbal, and Mukhtar Ahmed, validated these illegal transfers. The officers allegedly used forged permissions and fabricated references to make the transfers appear legitimate.
The Board of Revenue’s TOS Division-1 team also uncovered fee embezzlement amounting to PKR 17 million. This included fraudulent fee transactions linked to mutation numbers 60410, 60896, 61275, 61791, 63307, and 64638, all within Moza Ichhra.
Sources further revealed that Patwari Abdullah Goraya has been posted in the Ichhra Circle for over three years and is allegedly involved in widespread manipulation of land records. Reports suggest extensive tampering and deliberate errors in the records to serve personal interests. Despite several serious complaints of corruption, administrative officers have failed to take action against him due to his apparent influence. Prominent political figures are also reportedly shielding him, providing significant backing for his unlawful activities.
Citizens have demanded Senior Member Board of Revenue Punjab Nabeel Javed and DG Anti-Corruption Punjab Sohail Zafar Chattha to take immediate and strict action against fee embezzlement and the illegal transfer of government land. They have also urged authorities to seize Moza Ichhra’s land records and conduct a comprehensive audit to uncover further irregularities and record tampering. The audit is expected to expose more illegal registries where substantial revenue was stolen during transactions.
Sources claim that thousands of registries in Moza Ichhra were processed without depositing the required fees into the government treasury. Furthermore, Patwari Abdullah Goraya has refused to provide complete records to the Board of Revenue’s audit team and has denied any cooperation in the investigation.
The inspection report stresses the need for a thorough investigation into this alarming issue and calls for the responsible officials to be held accountable under the law. Citizens have urged the government to take decisive action to address revenue theft and the illegal transfer of state land, while ensuring the protection of public resources through effective reforms.