Sindh govt.-Green Corporate sign joint venture for corporate farming in Khairpur, Thar, Dadu, Thatta, Sujawal, Badin districts of Sindh
Staff Report
Karachi, Sindh
After a pilot project in Punjab Province for Corporate Agriculture Farming, a government-to-government (G2G) Joint Venture Agreement was signed on Friday January 19, 2024 at Chief Minister’s House between the Sindh government and M/S Green Corporate Initiative (Private) Limited, a company under the umbrella of Pak Army for Corporate Agriculture Farming initiative for cultivating available barren land in all the provinces of Pakistan.
This was stated by Minister Revenue Younus Dhaga while addressing a press conference here at CM House. He was accompanied by Minister Law Omar Soomro, Minister Information Ahmad Shah, and Major General Shahid Nazeer.
The media was told that this was one of the initiatives under the umbrella of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) established under Chapter IIA of the Board of Investment Ordinance 2001 introduced through an Amendment Act of 2023 passed by the Parliament, wherein all the Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries of provinces have been notified as the members of 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.
Hence, considering an ongoing initiative decided at national and provincial levels, the Statement of Conditions (SoCs) for Corporate Agriculture Farming (CAF) was approved by the Caretaker Sindh government on December 01, 2023, to ensure the continuity of the policy decisions of the previous elected governments both at federal and provincial levels.
As a pilot project, concerned Deputy Commissioners have identified some pieces of barren land measuring approximately “52713” Acres, for the pilot project of sthis initiative i.e., Khairpur 28,000 Acres, Tharparkar 10,000 Acres, Dadu 9305 Acres, Thatta 1000 Acres, Sujawal 3408 Acres and Badin 1000 Acres.
The barren land shall be handed over for 20 years after survey, demarcation and verification that such land is not located in prohibited areas, not under any pending litigations or court orders and also not included in any barrage land grants.
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Further, it shall also be ensured that no land shall be considered for this initiative which shall fall within the limits of any villages, katchi abadi, locality, temporary shelters, grazing land, seasonal cultivation, range, any settlement, amenity, potential mining areas, already reserved land for any public purpose, 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.
The Company shall spent 20 percent of the Net profit on Research and Development in the local area. While 40 per cent of the Net Profit will be paid to the Sindh Government on an annual basis. However, the remaining 40 per cent of the Company share shall also be spent on local infrastructures, irrigation channels, solar water supply schemes, schools, hospitals, development schemes and other facilities in areas where such projects will be executed in Sindh province.
The land will not granted as a title but will be given just for cultivation purposes. Ownership of land shall vest with the Sindh Government. No local rights will be affected by the Projects. No water rights of the local population shall be affected. Companies have to arrange for water resources through alternate modes rather than relying solely on irrigation channels. All Roads, including Roads and trails across the Project Area, which have been traditionally used by the local population, shall remain open to free use by the public, for commercial and public purposes. No land with mineral potential shall be included in this initiative.
The Sindh government shall have the final authority in case any issues arise. A Board of Management has been established under Chief Secretary Sindh which will take all decisions regarding land management and land issues.
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