Test of patience: Delayed land sparks protest

1,200 acres were acquired from villagers in 2006.

FAISALABAD:

Scores of people who provided land to the Faisalabad Development Authority (FDA) for the construction of FDA City in 2006 protested against the authority on Friday for delay in the compensation.

Most of the protesting landowners said they had been compensated, they said they had gathered in solidarity with those who had yet to get plots.

In 2006, landowners gave up 1,200 acres land near M-3 Motorway FDA for the development of FDA City.

An FDA official, seeking anonymity, told The Express Tribune that at the time the land had been transferred to FDA, landowners had been promised that they would be compensated in cash and a plot each.

He said they were paid 70 per cent of the cost in cash, and the rest was to be paid in the form of a residential plot. He said most of the landowners had been issued letters for residential plots, but issuance of some plots had been delayed.

The protesters gathered in front of the FDA office and demanded that the compensation be completed immediately.

Khan Muhammad, one of the men awaiting a plot allotment, said that the FDA had stopped him from irrigating his land. He said he had agreed when he was told that 30 per cent of the cost of his land would be returned as a plot.

He said six years had gone by, but he was still waiting to be issued an allotment letter. He said that he had repeatedly visited the FDA office and told every time that his application was being processed.

He said he had had to sell some of his other land.

He claimed that some FDA officials had told him to “look for another source of income and forget about the plot”.

The protesters carried placards and shouted slogans against FDA alleging fraud.

The protesters threatened to vandalise FDA office and properties owned by its workers.

The demonstration continued for over two hours. An FDA spokesman then arrived at the scene and assured the protesters that the matter would be resolved soon.

Wajid Hassan, the FDA deputy director for City Housing Scheme, told The Express Tribune that the authority had obtained land from 600 people. He said plot allotment files had been issued to all land providers except two.

He said their files had been lost and would be created again.

He said now that the data entry and registration system had been computerised, such delays would not recur.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 31^st, 2013.