Nangarhar: Fruit garden being set up on reclaimed state land

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): The Education Department in eastern Nangarhar province has started planting a fruit garden on its 22.5 acres of land recently reclaimed from usurpers.

Mufti Habib Hazrat Haqqani, Nangarhar education director, inaugurated the garden’s plantation.

He said the land had been previously given to a person under a contract, but he refused to pay the annual rent to the government for a long time.

According to Haqqani, the land, which belongs to the Department of Education, was freed from usurpers and leased to Sahak Agricultural Company for five years.

He said the company will pay 3,200 afghanis per half an acre of land every year or one million afghanis a year. This amount was previously only 21,500 afghanis a year.

Abdullah, an official of the company, said they will set up a fruit garden on the land.

He said 3,500 seedlings will be planted to provide the people with a place for recreation.

According to him, short-term and long-term jobs will also be provided to many people.

Many such lands previously given against a very low amount and then seized by the contractor (lessee), have been freed from usurpers.

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