Land mafia busted: Railway retrieves 49-kanal from powerful tycoons

ISLAMABAD:

Railway authorities have managed to retrieve possession of 49-kanal of land from influential politicians in Tariqabad area of Faisalabad after more than ten years. The politicians had defaulted Rs200 million since 2002.

A senior official in the ministry of railways told The Express Tribune that the ministry terminated the agreement with the group due to its violation, who had forcefully occupied the land despite defaulting since long.

The official said that the land was leased out to the party back in 2002 for 99 years through a private company, but the party could not abide by the agreed terms and condition while clearing the payments due to the ministry using pressure tactics.

At present, the ministry has retrieved the possession of the land along with a two-storey plaza which has also been constructed by the company with the name Abu Dhabi Mall. According to the official, a sitting senator and a brother of a senior parliamentarian from Sindh was part of the deal.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th, 2014.