Gymkhana lease record sought

Punjab Assembly committee asks BoR to share legal grounds for low rent

LAHORE:

A special committee of Punjab Assembly on Tuesday sought complete record of the renewal in 1996 of the Lahore Gymkhana Club’s lease after officials failed to explain the legal basis for leasing around 117 acres of prime state land along The Mall Road for Rs5,000 a year despite its estimated value of up to Rs218 billion.

The committee directed the Board of Revenue Colonies Wing to present the lease deed, official summaries, file notings, approval orders and valuation criteria, along with a written explanation identifying the competent authority and the legal grounds for fixing the rent.

It raised the question why the lease had been renewed for 50 years, from 2000 to 2050, in 1996, four years before it was due to expire. According to sources, the board failed to provide satisfactory answers regarding the decision and stated that it had no record of government approval for buildings constructed on the land between 1972 and 2012.

The Special Committee No. 6, convened by MPA Sami Ullah Khan, took up an adjournment motion and a privilege motion concerning the club’s use of government land, its lease terms and public accountability. According to documents placed before the committee, the land in the club’s possession is valued at between Rs76 billion and Rs218 billion.

A district price and rent assessment committee headed by the Lahore deputy commissioner had assessed comparable land along The Mall, Jail Road and Zafar Ali Road in January last year at Rs70 million to Rs200 million per kanal, with market rents ranging from Rs15,000 to Rs200,000 per marla per month.

Even at residential rental rates, the approximately 1,090 kanal could generate Rs3.9 billion to Rs5.2 billion annually. The club has occupied the land since 1913, initially under a licence for a golf course. Its annual rent was fixed at Rs1,600 in 1921 and remained unchanged for 79 years.

The lease was renewed in 1996 for 50 years at the annual rent of Rs5,000. The club also occupies a six-acre cricket ground in Bagh-e-Jinnah at an annual rent of Rs900 under a lease extending until 2069. Committee members questioned the substantial concession granted to the club, contrasting it with the eviction of shopkeepers from government land and anti-encroachment operations against street vendors.

MPA Amjad Ali Javed described the arrangement as “elite capture” and questioned whether the state had adequately protected its assets. MPA Ahmad Iqbal Chaudhry termed the club a “colonial relic” and called for a review of privileges that, he said, were inconsistent with equitable governance.

MPA Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain Chachar demanded accountability of officials whose alleged inaction had allowed the arrangement to continue. He also asked whether the permanent structures erected on the land had the requisite approvals.

The members also highlighted the disparity between the club’s existing lease and the government’s 2023 gymkhana policy, under which clubs are required to pay 10 per cent of market rent, with an annual increase of 5%.

Under that policy, 13 gymkhanas in nine districts have been allotted land at annual rates ranging from Rs200,000 to Rs1.4 million per acre.

Applying the policy to the Lahore Gymkhana at residential rental rates would generate approximately Rs390 million to Rs520 million annually. However, the Board of Revenue maintains that the policy does not apply to the club’s existing lease.