Compensation for people whose land was acquired begins

Rs680 million to be awarded to land-owners whose property was acquired in 2016 at Trimmu-Sidhnai Link Canal

LAHORE:

Payment of compensation award of Rs680 million to land-owners, acquired in 2016 for the construction of a seepage drain along the Trimmu-Sidhnai Link Canal, has started on the direction of the Punjab Ombudsman’s office.

In a statement issued in the provincial capital on Sunday said that this compensation was part of continuous mediation, monitoring and facilitation by the office of the Ombudsman of Punjab.

After the decision, the long-awaited issue of the people affected had been resolved.

The spokesman for the Ombudsman said that the provincial Irrigation Department had formulated a plan in 2016 to construct a seepage drain along the Trimmu-Sidhnai Link Canal to control waterlogging in the adjoining areas.

For acquiring lands from private owners, the Land Revenue Act (Section 4) of 1994 was invoked, and a gazette notification was issued for the payment of compensation amounting to the tune of Rs680 million. The land acquisition collector of the canal and drainage division of Faisalabad was entrusted with the responsibility of disbursing the compensation payments. However, despite a considerable length of time having elapsed, no payment was made to the affected landowners, the spokesman added.

The spokesman said that six affected individuals from the Qaim Bharwana locality of Shorkot Tehsil filed separate complaints to the Ombudsman’s office in 2019 for payment of compensation for their land.

While the Ombudsman’s office took prompt notice of the complaints and issued instructions to the Irrigation Department, the matter of the payments remained unresolved.

Taking into consideration the seriousness of the issue and the public interest, the Ombudsman of Punjab, Major (Retd.) Azam Suleman Khan, directed the initiation of the payment process. Consequently, the regional ombudsman office in Jhang completed all pending legal procedures under the Land Revenue Act and executed the issuance of gazette notifications.

Following this crucial development, the land acquisition collector and revenue, as well as project staff, visited all the affected areas and announced the awards for the compensation payments.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2023.