Revenue generation: Cantonment board to make way for multi-story plaza

Old buildings to be demolished to generate more revenue.

PESHAWAR:

The Cantonment Board Peshawar (CBP) plans to demolish old buildings in the cantonment area to construct a multi-story plaza in order to boost revenue, said CBP Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Saleem Hassan Wattoo on Saturday.

The CEO was briefing the media at the CBP office following protests organised by traders who were being forced to vacate their shops to make way for the new construction. The traders alleged the CBP had violated the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) stay orders and demanded they be accommodated in the plaza without a change in rent.

Wattoo claimed the CBP was not bound by any agreement with the traders and added the four kanals of property had been purchased by the board in 1963. It was rented out on a monthly basis to tenants in 1964, he said.



“We will construct a multi-story plaza. If the traders wish, they can rent shops on the existing market value,” Wattoo said.

The four kanal area — comprising six workshops, four garages, six flats, nine shops and one veranda — generates around Rs74,422 in rent every month, he informed.

“We are the custodians of this property and it is our responsibility to generate maximum revenue in order to provide facilities to locals,” Wattoo maintained. Traders pay a very small amount of rent for a property situated in a prime location, he argued.

The CBP CEO explained the board was not funded by the provincial or federal government. “We need to generate revenue for ourselves to carry out development projects,” he said. “The cantonment area is shrinking and we have to make use of the available land.”

The CEO stated the board would honour the PHC’s stay order and not demolish the shops until the court gave its final verdict.



“We have tried to negotiate with the traders but they are not agreeing to increase the rent or accept the new land premium,” Watoo claimed. He added the board had sent several notices to the tenants since September 2012 telling them to vacate the area, but the traders refused to comply. As a result, the CBP filed a petition in the PHC which issued a stay order until July 5.

Wattoo also said the Shahi Katha, which passes through the cantonment area and gets blocked in the rainy season, would be modified in later development projects.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2^nd, 2013.