Islamabad: Pakistan Railways has reclaimed 2,552 acres of encroached land across the country over the past five financial years as part of an ongoing campaign to recover state-owned assets, though 12,468 acres remain under illegal occupation.
According to an official in the Ministry of Railways, Pakistan Railways owns 168,858 acres of land nationwide, of which 12,468 acres, or 7.38%, are currently under encroachment.
The official said the department has adopted a comprehensive strategy to reclaim encroached land, including nationwide anti-encroachment operations carried out in coordination with provincial governments. Law enforcement agencies have been engaged to support the campaign, while quarterly anti-encroachment plans and legal notices under the Possession Ordinance, 1965, have also been introduced.
Over the last five years, Pakistan Railways recovered 1,078 acres in Punjab, 837 acres in Sindh, 419 acres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 218 acres in Balochistan.
The reclaimed land comprised 713 acres of commercial property, 268 acres of residential land, 1,564 acres of agricultural land and seven acres under other categories.
To strengthen land management, Pakistan Railways has digitised and geo-referenced all of its land records and integrated them with provincial databases through the Pakistan Railways Land Management and Information System (PRLMIS), which also supports real-time monitoring through a mobile application.
The ministry said legal action continues against illegal occupants in accordance with the law, while regular anti-encroachment operations are being conducted to prevent fresh encroachments.
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