Encroachments galore: No solution in sight to reclaim railways land

Officials say they are in talks with katchi abadi residents, army and Punjab govt to resolve the issue

RAWALPINDI:

Pakistan Railways is yet to reclaim over 188 acres of its land encroached upon by various government, military departments and a housing authority.

A sub-committee of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Railways is also monitoring the campaign to recover the railways land and there have been some successful operations in some parts of the country.

However, no breakthrough has so far taken place in the Rawalpindi Division where a total of 188.79 acres of land belonging to the Pakistan Railways has been encroached upon for years.



According to the railways authorities, a total of 118 acres are occupied by informal settlements, 36 acres by the Pakistan Army’s Joint Staff Headquarters, and eight acres by the Defence Housing Authority (DHA).

A total of 7.7 acres are in use of the Punjab government’s Housing and Physical Planning Department, while another 16 acres have been used in road infrastructure within the limits of Punjab.

Chakwal Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) has built a park on 13 acres of railways land.

Officials said the railways land has been used by these departments for around 50 years now. Neither has railways been paid, nor the land leased out, they said.

Rawalpindi Divisional Superintendent Railways Abdul Malik said they were in talks with the JS Headquarters and squatters to reach a settlement.

He said DHA had agreed to provide 26 acres to railways in Lahore in lieu of the eight acres in the housing society’s possession in Rawalpindi.

Similarly, Chakwal TMA has agreed to give control of the park to railways. Malik said they were also corresponding with the Punjab government to recover the land, which is in use of provincial government departments.

DHA has agreed to provide 26 acres in Lahore, as an alternate to eight acres it occupied in Rawalpindi

Rawalpindi Divisional Superintendent

Railways Abdul Malik

Published in The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2015.