Unpaid rent: National Logistics Cell taken to court

The petition, filed by CAA, will be taken up today.

RAWALPINDI:

In an effort to recover unpaid rent from the National Logistics Cell (NLC), Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approached the Lahore High Court on Monday.

The petition, filed by CAA airport manager through Advocate Muhammad Bilal Shah and CAA Legal Adviser Obaidur Rehman Abbasi, has cited NLC managing director, project director (north) and Rawalpindi Division commissioner as respondents. Justice Ali Baqir Najafi of the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench will take up the petition for hearing on Tuesday.

The petition maintains that the commercial entity of the army owes Rs6.7 million in rent for using CAA’s land as a site office while constructing the Chandni Chowk Flyover. The NLC, being the contractor, used a piece of land measuring 52.65 kanals on the Rawal Road to set up its concrete mixing plant there. Later, it delayed signing the agreement with CAA.

Previous efforts by the authority, which include lodging a complaint with the police and filing a lawsuit, have not yielded any positive results.

According to the CAA, in a meeting held at the commissioner’s office in September last year, it was decided that the NLC would hire CAA’s land as a site office to place mixture machines for preparing construction material for the flyover.

In several letters written to the NLC and the commissioner, the CAA requested the respondents to sign an agreement for hiring the land, but no progress was made despite the fact that rates for the rent had been worked out.

In subsequent correspondence, the NLC asked CAA to decrease the rent but the authority did not agree. When an agreement could not be reached, CAA served NLC a legal notice after the latter had completed the flyover and started to remove its equipment from the site.

The land, however, is still under the occupation of NLC, which has started constructing another flyover on the Sixth Road intersection.

Six months back, the CAA offered the land to be leased out for the construction of a marriage hall and got earnest money from the successful bidder. The authority fears it may face a lawsuit if it fails to hand over the land on time.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2012.