Metro land acquisition: Three committees formed to address grievances
Khawaja Ahmad Hassaan chairs meeting to review land acquisition for project
A view of the Orange Line Metro Train construction site. PHOTO: EXPRESS
LAHORE:
The Punjab government has constituted three sub-committees to address grievances of people whose land is going to be acquired for the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project.
Khawaja Ahmad Hassaan said on Monday that these sub-committees would take the land owners into confidence about the land acquisition process for the mega project.
After chairing a meeting about the project on Monday, Hassaan said that Punjab Assembly Member (MPA) Majid Zahoor would lead the sub-committee formed to meet people of areas around Jain Mandir. “MPAs Waheed Gul and Waseem Qadir will chair the Dera Gujjaran and Mominpura sub-committees respectively. These sub-committees will record public grievances and take citizens into confidence about the project,” he said.
Hassaan said that the 90-day notice period required to acquire land for the project had ended on November 2. “Now, the government can legally evict people from required properties along the metro train route. However, we are trying to keep inconvenience to the people to a minimum by taking them into confidence. The government understands that it is very difficult for people to give up their properties. But it is a public project that has great significance for citizens of Lahore. The chief minister has announced that the government will pay fair compensation to all affected people,” he said.
Hassaan said the government had formulated the land acquisition plan after evaluating property records and conducting a market survey along the route. “However, the land acquisition plan will be executed after obtaining stakeholders’ feedback through these sub-committees,” he said.
He said once the land acquisition processes started, property owners would be requested to surrender property documents before they got their compensation cheques. “Elsewhere, people might claim that they are not being given proper compensation whenever governments acquire private property for development projects. The Punjab government, however, is committed to paying due compensation to all the affected people,” he said.
Ishtiaq, Gul, Zahoor, Commissioner Abdullah Khan Sumbal, Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Director General Ahad Khan Cheema, LDA Chief Engineer Israr Saeed and senior Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency (TEPA) and NESPAK officials were present at the meeting.
Gul strongly criticised the officers for not taking public into confidence about the project. “Lahoris will not learn what the government is going to pay them in compensation until land owned by some senior civil servant has to be acquired by the project,” he said.
The LDA had earlier announced that around 1,165 kanals land will be acquired for the construction of train stations along the route. Two of the stations will be underground - near Lakshmi Chowk and the General Post Office building. This will include 731 kanals needed for the establishment of a stabling yard, electric sub-stations and a depot near Dera Gujjaran.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2016.
The Punjab government has constituted three sub-committees to address grievances of people whose land is going to be acquired for the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project.
Khawaja Ahmad Hassaan said on Monday that these sub-committees would take the land owners into confidence about the land acquisition process for the mega project.
After chairing a meeting about the project on Monday, Hassaan said that Punjab Assembly Member (MPA) Majid Zahoor would lead the sub-committee formed to meet people of areas around Jain Mandir. “MPAs Waheed Gul and Waseem Qadir will chair the Dera Gujjaran and Mominpura sub-committees respectively. These sub-committees will record public grievances and take citizens into confidence about the project,” he said.
Hassaan said that the 90-day notice period required to acquire land for the project had ended on November 2. “Now, the government can legally evict people from required properties along the metro train route. However, we are trying to keep inconvenience to the people to a minimum by taking them into confidence. The government understands that it is very difficult for people to give up their properties. But it is a public project that has great significance for citizens of Lahore. The chief minister has announced that the government will pay fair compensation to all affected people,” he said.
Hassaan said the government had formulated the land acquisition plan after evaluating property records and conducting a market survey along the route. “However, the land acquisition plan will be executed after obtaining stakeholders’ feedback through these sub-committees,” he said.
He said once the land acquisition processes started, property owners would be requested to surrender property documents before they got their compensation cheques. “Elsewhere, people might claim that they are not being given proper compensation whenever governments acquire private property for development projects. The Punjab government, however, is committed to paying due compensation to all the affected people,” he said.
Ishtiaq, Gul, Zahoor, Commissioner Abdullah Khan Sumbal, Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Director General Ahad Khan Cheema, LDA Chief Engineer Israr Saeed and senior Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency (TEPA) and NESPAK officials were present at the meeting.
Gul strongly criticised the officers for not taking public into confidence about the project. “Lahoris will not learn what the government is going to pay them in compensation until land owned by some senior civil servant has to be acquired by the project,” he said.
The LDA had earlier announced that around 1,165 kanals land will be acquired for the construction of train stations along the route. Two of the stations will be underground - near Lakshmi Chowk and the General Post Office building. This will include 731 kanals needed for the establishment of a stabling yard, electric sub-stations and a depot near Dera Gujjaran.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2016.