Lease regularisation policy a bust

High cost keeps RCB’s old grant leaseholders away

RAWALPINDI:

The policy issued by the federal government to transfer old grant leaseholders’ properties to regular lease in 44 cantonment boards across the country, including the cantonment boards of Rawalpindi and Chaklala, failed to get the desired results in the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) when the latest deadline of June 30 lapsed.

The high cost of converting residential and commercial properties meant that out of thousands of such properties under the jurisdiction of RCB, only one commercial and one residential property acquired regular lease.

It should be noted that the policy was extended for the fourth time till June 30. This was done for the owners of the millions of the pre-partition residential and commercial old grant lease properties in the country's cantonments.

Most of these structures remained in a dilapidated state, with renovation not allowed due to the issue of the lease.

However, the premium, development charges, ground rent, and surcharge meant that leaseholders had to pay to the tune of millions for conversion of lease. This means most were reluctant to pay the charges, described exorbitant, but the 2007 lease policy was contested and amended.

Only two properties were thus regularized while objections on 112 other properties meant that the process could not be completed.

It warrants mention that there were 250 residential and 150 commercial properties on old grant leases that were regularized in Rawalpindi under this policy.

The number of such properties is in thousands within the limits of Rawalpindi and Chaklala cantonments.

Declaring the fourth extension as the last extension in the policy, the government has issued a warning that properties that are not regularized would be confiscated.

Revised policy

According to the revised policy, a token premium of Rs100, development charges of 10 per cent of the deputy commissioner’s (DC) assessment and Rs2 per square yard ground rent has to be paid.

For regular lease of residential old grant leased property of more than five marla, 20 per cent premium of the DC’s assessment of the property value in the area, 10 per cent development charges of that rate and Rs2 per square yard ground rent has to be paid.

The regular commercial leases of old grant commercial lease property requires 40 per cent premium of the rate determined by the DC, 10 per cent development charges on that rate and Rs4 per square yard ground rent.

Also, from 2010, a surcharge of five per cent per annum had to be paid for regular leases of all types of old grant lease properties, whether residential or commercial.

It should be noted that there are thousands of residential and commercial old grant lease properties in Rawalpindi and Chaklala cantonment boards.

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

NOTE: An earlier version of the story mentioned RDA in the story instead of RCB. The error is regretted.