Market rates sought for Leh Expressway land
Owners warn of protest outside Lal Haveli, move court if demands not met
PHOTO: REUTERS
RAWALPINDI:
Residents of areas which have been demarcated for the construction of the Leh Expressway in Rawalpindi district have demanded that they should be paid market rates for their properties.
Meanwhile, the Rawalpindi district administration has started marking the land on which the signal-free, dual carriageway will be built from Jhanda Chichi near Ammar Chowk to Khayaban-e-Sir Syed.
Many houses in Jhanda Chichi, Dhoke Chiragh Din, Gawalmandi, Mohan Pura, Ratta Amral, Dhoke Hassu, Dhoke Dalal, Khayaban-e-Sir Syed, Fauji Colony, and Bangash Colony fall along the pre-determined route for the expressway.
Residents and owners of these properties complained that while the government has started its process to mark the land, it has yet to compensate them for it.
Muhammad Shafique and Khalid Mehmood, who live in Mohan Pura, said that as many as 56 houses in the locality are set to be demolished as they fall on the expressway’s marked route.
Shafique said that so far they have been told by the government that every affected house owner will be paid up to Rs0.7 million per Marla (272.25 square feet). He added that those who have constructed two or three-storey houses on a five Marla plot will only be paid Rs3.5 million.
Even this meagre amount, Shafique said, will be paid in instalments. They angrily expressed that if the government fails to compensate them fairly, they will stage a protest outside Lal Haveli, the home of the Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed, besides moving the court.
Meanwhile, the district administration has banned the sale and purchase of properties along Leh Expressway. All registration of such properties has also been stopped.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 16th, 2020.
Residents of areas which have been demarcated for the construction of the Leh Expressway in Rawalpindi district have demanded that they should be paid market rates for their properties.
Meanwhile, the Rawalpindi district administration has started marking the land on which the signal-free, dual carriageway will be built from Jhanda Chichi near Ammar Chowk to Khayaban-e-Sir Syed.
Many houses in Jhanda Chichi, Dhoke Chiragh Din, Gawalmandi, Mohan Pura, Ratta Amral, Dhoke Hassu, Dhoke Dalal, Khayaban-e-Sir Syed, Fauji Colony, and Bangash Colony fall along the pre-determined route for the expressway.
Residents and owners of these properties complained that while the government has started its process to mark the land, it has yet to compensate them for it.
Muhammad Shafique and Khalid Mehmood, who live in Mohan Pura, said that as many as 56 houses in the locality are set to be demolished as they fall on the expressway’s marked route.
Shafique said that so far they have been told by the government that every affected house owner will be paid up to Rs0.7 million per Marla (272.25 square feet). He added that those who have constructed two or three-storey houses on a five Marla plot will only be paid Rs3.5 million.
Even this meagre amount, Shafique said, will be paid in instalments. They angrily expressed that if the government fails to compensate them fairly, they will stage a protest outside Lal Haveli, the home of the Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed, besides moving the court.
Meanwhile, the district administration has banned the sale and purchase of properties along Leh Expressway. All registration of such properties has also been stopped.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 16th, 2020.