Act 038 of 2005 : Displaced Persons Claims and Other Laws Repeal Act, 2005

SOR Statement of Objects and Reasons

Prefatory Note-Statement of Objects and Reasons.-The Displaced Persons Claims Act, 1950, the Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950, the Evacuee Interest (Separation) Act, 1951, the Displaced Persons (Claims) Supplementary Act, 1954 and the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954 were enacted, inter alia, to make provisions for the registration and verification of claims of displaced persons in respect of immovable property in Pakistan, the administration of evacuee property, providing for the separation of the interests of evacuees from those of other persons in property in which such other persons are also interested, the payment of compensation and rehabilitation grant to displaced persons and the disposal of certain proceedings pending under the Displaced Persons (Claims) Act, 1950.

2. The major works of claims compensation and rehabilitation more or less had been completed by the year end of 1970. Subsequently, the erstwhile Ministry of Labour and Rehabilitation (Department of Rehabilitation) which was responsible for the aforesaid rehabilitation work also concluded that only a limited number of acquired evacuee urban and agricultural lands or properties had remained to be disposed of and the expenditure which was being incurred for the purpose was out of proportion to the volume of work and the receipts from their disposal. To effect economy in expenditure in the management of the evacuee properties, the Central Government made administrative and financial arrangements with the concerned State Government for the disposal of the residuary assets in the manner consistent with the purposes of the aforesaid Acts and transferred the surplus evacuee properties to the State Governments in various package deals. This arrangement virtually put an end to the ownership of the Central Government on the undisposed evacuee properties.

3. Subsequent to the transfer of the ownership of the Central Government on the undisposed evacuee properties to the State Government concerned, it was reported by the State Governments that a large number of claims under the aforesaid Acts are being continued to be filed in the various courts under the aforesaid Acts. It has further been brought to the notice of the Central Government that a number of persons unconnected with the claimants posing as their legal heirs are presenting repeated demands for lands. Examinations have revealed that in most of such cases the claimants under the temptation to grab more lands, have managed to obtain bogus and excess allotments. It therefore, had become difficult for the State Governments to retrieve the Government lands and properties worth crores of rupees from the hands of unscrupulous persons.

4. In view of above, the concerned State Governments, therefore, recommended to repeal the above Acts. Consequently, after consulting the State Governments, the Central Government constituted a Core Group on the 7th February, 2003 to examine the proposal to repeal of the aforesaid Acts. The said Core Group in March, 2003 recommended repeal of the aforesaid Acts and rules made thereunder. The Central Government decided to accept the recommendations of the concerned State Governments and the Core Group to repeal the above Acts.

5. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objectives.