Tolo News08/31/2010By [Printer Friendly Version] The Cadastral Survey of Afghanistan (CSA) reports about the seizure of more than 20 million acres of land by power holders Head of the CSA, in an exclusive interview with TOLOnews, said the department has been able to survey only 34 percent of Afghanistan's lands. Lack of professional personnel and shortage of required devices are among the main reasons that CSA officials have cited for not being able to survey all the land in the country. CSA officials say most of the governmental land seized by influential people belong to the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, and the rest of the land belongs to Afghan citizens. "About 20 million acres of land have been seized by influential people," Ghulam Aishan Sultani, head of CSA told TOLOnews reporter. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture claims the ownership of 90% of the seized lands and officials remark that the lands have been grasped by powerful people. "The figures provided by the Cadastral Survey is accurate because it is the only organisation that provides figures about the issue and we confirm their number," said the spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture, Majidullah Qarar. As a result of insecurity and fightings in the recent years, the Ministry could not properly save its properties, officials said. Officials said a commission comprised of nine ministries has been set up in order to punish those who have violated land laws, and return the siezed lands back to the government.
