The caretaker Sindh government has approved the allocation of over 52,000 acres of state land for corporate agriculture farming. The decision designates specific acreages in various regions, including Khairpur, Mithi, Dadu, Sujawal, Thatta, and Badin. The allocation falls under the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).
Earlier this year, the chief secretary of Sindh directed the provincial Land Utilization Department and the Board of Revenue to assess the availability of sufficient state land for leasing in corporate agriculture farming.
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To regulate this land grant, the Sindh government has notified a Statement of Conditions under the British-era law, the Colonization of Government Lands Act 1912. The government-owned land will be leased through an open auction for 20 years to individuals or entities for purposes such as agriculture research, farming, import substitution, and livestock research. The Sindh government is entitled to 33 percent of the profits generated from the project.
The conditions explicitly exclude federal and provincial government departments from participating in the open auction, allowing private companies to bid for the land.
In a recent Sindh cabinet meeting on December 1, there were plans to lease the state land to a private company named Green Corporate Initiative Pvt Ltd. This move in Sindh reflects a similar corporate farming project in Punjab.
