Govt claims agreement with displaced families

Khawaja Hassaan says some property owners have started vacating properties

LAHORE: Khawaja Ahmad Hassaan announced on Saturday that the government had reached an agreement with a group of citizens for the acquisition of their properties for the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Hassaan, who heads a negotiation team constituted for land acquisition for project, said that a number of property owners had voluntarily started making arrangements to surrender their properties. “It is impossible, however, for any government to make everyone happy,” he added.

“The government is trying its best to facilitate all people whose properties are being acquired for the project. The government has offered them a reasonable amount of financial compensation in return for vacating their properties for the project,” he said.

To a question, Hassaan said that demolition and acquisition of houses was a very painful process for both the owners and the government. “If some people on McLeod Road have started vacating their properties, you can realise that they have accepted the government’s offer. They are willingly surrendering possession. The government has offered them good compensation, beyond their expectations in some cases. That is why people are vacating their properties,” he said.

The Punjab government had earlier constituted three sub-committees to address public grievances and take citizens into confidence about the land acquisition process. Hassaan said that these committees had nearly completed their task.

“The land acquisition plan has been finalised. The acquisition will start next week. The owners will be asked to surrender property documents. Then they will be paid the compensation,” he said.

The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) had earlier announced that around 1,165 kanals of land will be acquired for the construction of 26 train stations along the route. This also includes 731 kanals for the establishment of a stabling yard, electric sub-stations and a depot near Dera Gujjaran. The project is estimated to cost Rs165 billion. Rs150 billion is being financed through a Chinese soft loan. The project will be completed in 27 months.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2016.