Departments lock horns over five kanals of land
The department owns around 49,470 kanals of which over 10,000 kanals have been encroached by the land grabbing mafia.. STOCK IMAGE
The ownership of five kanals of land on prime location has become a bone of contention between the two departments.
The Rawalpindi District Market Committee (DMC) and Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) have locked horns on ownership of five-kanals of valuable land in the Commercial Market area which was lying vacant for the last several years.
It was being used as a dumping site by the area locals. Later, the market committee got it cleaned and rented it out to a contractor on Rs96,000 monthly.
However, when the commercial parking started on the related land, the PHA carried out an operation and expelled the contractor, and sealed it.
Now, DMC has submitted an application with the Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner (DC) Anwarul Haq for retrieval of the plot.
It stated that the plot was previously owned by the agricultural department which handed it over to the DMC and that they had all the required documents to prove it.
An Assistant Commissioner (AC) carried out an inquiry that endorsed the claims of the committee. The matter has reached the high officials of the Punjab government.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 8th, 2021.