Afghanistan Times
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After 2001, land value has been increased in Afghanistan in which has turned to some primary driver of conflict in the country. Must say that lad grabbing has reached the boiling point in the last 16 years, especially after the collapse of the Taliban regime. Land Mafia groups increased their illegal act of land grabbing after recognizing the land value. It has been reported several times that most of plots grabbed and sold illegally, but with fortunate the government has showed strong willingness to recapture the usurped plots as soon as it is possible. This evil practice has to be banned once for all. Those who have power will continue grabbing more lands without hesitation. Surly, it is a lucrative business, but don’t forget it is a black earning. Obviously it brings them (land mafia) billions of dollars, but one day the government will trigger them to the book with huge compensation and punishment. The land grabbers must take this as a warning because when justice comes it will not knock the door. It is shameful to see that thousands of acres have been usurped. Despite this, it give us hope to see that the National Unity Government is coming to the fore with a clear mechanism to prevent land mafia for further grabbing state-owned lands. Since it is internal issue, the government must show its power and send behind bars all those people involved in grabbing. The people will be happy and will be remained optimistic once see that all land grabber have been detained and the lands retaken from the usurpers. Fortunately, President Ashraf Ghani while addressing the 4th Urban Conference in Kabul, said Afghanistan’s urban areas were facing numerous challenges but that these issues need to be resolved. He talked about water level in Kabul terming it as a matter of concern. He also noted that food security was a problem especially as the country relies so heavily on imports. He also hinted to some another issue to be taken care of. At the same time he pledged to resolve the issue of land grabbing, saying government will confiscate all land that has been usurped illegally. To do so, the government has to support the justice ministry in recovering the state-property from the bigwigs. It is a fact that grabbing of state-land continued in the past decade as no institution could stem the tide. There has been a serious rant against land grabbing but little has been done in recovering. In case the government seemed unwilling to deal with the issue, there would a time when see all public lands usurped by the land mafia. Noting this, immediate action is the need of the hour. The related official must end this established practice and don’t let this intrusive to further gain root in our life.
