More than one million acres of land acquired by the government for the development of Punjab's Thal region have become the subject of a major National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation after a comparison of official acquisition notifications and revenue records exposed discrepancies involving 552,602 acres across five districts.
The NAB's investigation into the Thal Development Authority (TDA) has identified alleged illegal adjustments of state land, bogus right-of-return claims, and questionable transfers involving private claimants and government departments in Layyah, Kot Addu, Bhakkar, Mianwali, and Khushab. According to NAB records, more than 22,500 acres worth approximately Rs95 billion have so far been resumed or mutated in favour of the state in three districts, while the scrutiny of the remaining land and historical revenue records continues.
A perusal of the official documents, NAB investigation records, background briefings, and interviews with officials concerned by this correspondent reveal that the inquiry has exposed substantial differences between the land acquisition figures maintained by the Board of Revenue (BoR), district administrations, and original government notifications.
The investigation has also identified missing revenue registers, questionable land adjustments, and alleged manipulation of historical ownership and right-of-return arrangements through which valuable state land was transferred to private parties. The Thal Development Authority Act was promulgated in 1949, following the concept reflected in the Sindh Sagar Doaba Act, 1935, introduced during British rule.
Its principal objectives were the development of the Thal region and the settlement of refugees and others. According to NAB records, government notifications show that 1,016,007 acres were acquired for TDA across the five districts.
However, the BoR reported 507,688 acres, while the respective deputy commissioners' records collectively reported 463,405 acres. The difference between the notification figures and the district administrations' reports is 552,602 acres.
The district-wise comparison reveals significant discrepancies. In Kot Addu, notifications reflect 285,387 acres against 61,678 acres reported by the BoR and 61,511 acres by the deputy commissioner.
In Layyah, the corresponding figures are 566,360, 271,269, and 227,647 acres. In Bhakkar, notifications show 153,921 acres against 172,904 acres reported by both the BoR and the deputy commissioner.
In Mianwali, the deputy commissioner reported no acquisition, although notifications reflect 4,739 acres. Similarly, Khushab's deputy commissioner reported 1,343 acres against 5,600 acres mentioned in the notifications.
The investigation has also exposed serious gaps in the original revenue record. In Kot Addu, records relating to three out of 25 mouzas are missing from the adjustment branch.
In Bhakkar, records of five out of 34 mouzas are unavailable, while only one of nine registers is available for the remaining 29 mouzas. NAB has consequently resorted to consulting pre-Partition records maintained in Hindi Raqoom to establish the original acquisition and ownership position.
The scrutiny of adjustment files in Layyah, where TDA acquired land in 41 mouzas and retained approximately 254,000 acres as Haq Hasool, has revealed an alleged pattern through which state land was transferred to private parties.