Train project : Over 70 per cent of land needed acquired

LAHORE:

The provincial government has acquired over 70 per cent of land needed in connection with the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project.

Adviser to Chief Minister Khwaja Ahmad Hassaan told The Express Tribune that the government had shelled-out approximately Rs7 billion in relocation compensation to claimants whose properties were procured. Land along the project’s route has been taken over in most areas with the exception of disputed properties, he said. Hassaan said the Revenue Department had obtained 95 per cent of the property documents. Of these, he said, 65 per cent were found complete and authentic while the rest were incomplete or problematic.

Hassaan said compensation had been awarded to owners of 65 per cent of the properties. The remaining, he said, had been instructed by the Revenue Department to produce complete sets of documents or resubmit ownership claims backed with more credible evidence. Hassaan said this only left out properties whose ownership was sub judice.

The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) has shifted the three one-window camps established in different areas in the city to the authority’s head office in Johar Town. The LDA has asked claimants to visit a one-window cell there between 9am to 2pm. The authority has earmarked alternate days for different areas. The authority will compensate Thokar Niaz Beg claimants on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Friday has been reserved for Jain Mandir residents while Tuesday and Thursday have been marked for Kotli Ghasi areas.

The 27-kilometre-project is the nation’s first intra-city mass transit train project. It is projected to cost $1.65 billion. China’s ExIm Bank has already approved a soft loan to finance the project for a decade. The loan comes with a seven-year grace period. The Orange Line Metro Train project is expected to cater to 250,000 passengers daily and is slated to start functioning in the final quarter of 2017.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2016.