Metro bus: LHC vacates stay order

RAWALPINDI:

The Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) vacated a stay order on a section of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Project at Committee Chowk on Saturday.

On August 5, LHC had issued a restraining order after shopkeepers filed petitions against demolition of their buildings.

The petitioners had contended that the land acquisition collector (LAC) disbursed compensation among owners of shops at ground floors and ignored those on the first floor and above.

During the hearing, Rawalpindi Development Authority’s counsel Kashif Ali Malik argued that under the law, LAC was responsible for compensating landowners while those operating businesses on the floors above were entitled for compensation under the “built up property” clause which can be made after detailed studies.

The counsel said the issue is related to factual controversy and should be referred to a civil court.

Justice Shah Khawar then directed LAC to refer the case to a civil court to determine whether the petitioners’ objections as to land measurement and compensation amount were properly determined while pronouncing the award.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2014.