Owner of Port Qasim’s land still unpaid

Court warns of contempt proceedings against officials.


Our Correspondent November 01, 2012

KARACHI:  In 2004, the Sindh High Court ordered the Sindh Board of Revenue to pay the owner of the land it had bought in 1970s. Till date, the payment has not been made.

On Tuesday, the court took notice of the violation of its orders and warned the responsible officers of contempt-of-court proceedings.

The case relates to 69.34 acres of land acquired by the Sindh government for the Port Qasim Authority from M/s Rabia Rana and Company. The owner had requested the government to allot alternate land instead of cash, which then Karachi commissioner also accepted. However, neither the alternate land nor the compensation has been given till now.

On August 18, 2004, the board of revenue was directed to pay the entire amount of compensation with all permissible statutory increases within two months. On January 11, 2010, the court was told that Port Qasim Authority had paid the revenue department the money, which was deposited in the State Bank. On September 26, 2012, it transpired that the amount was not deposited with the court nazir, as ordered, despite the lapse of 19 months.

On the last hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer, Shahenshah Hussain, appealed to the court to order action against the officers who had deliberately not complied with court’s directives given eight years ago.

“It is regrettable, rather unfortunate that despite numerous warnings and opportunities the amount of compensation has not been paid as yet. On each date, we are facing extremely absurd, nonsensical and flimsy excuses,” the SHC division bench headed by Justice Maqbool Baqir noted.

The court ordered that it would be in the best interest of the officers concerned, including the Board of Revenue’s senior member to pay the entire amount to the petitioner in the court on the next hearing or else all officers shall face contempt proceedings. The hearing was then put off till November 12.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1st, 2012.

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