PA body takes notice of LDA corruption

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

Saturday, May 15, 2010
By By Our Correspondent
LAHORE

PUBLIC Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Punjab Assembly has taken strict notice of massive corruption, financial irregularities and maladministration in Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and directed its high-ups for immediately getting vacated illegally occupied state land and auctioning it afterwards.

A meeting chaired by Chairman PAC Ch Zaheer held in Punjab Assembly here on Friday looked into the affairs of LDA. It was decided in the meeting to write a letter to Advocate General Punjab to review under trial cases in courts.

The PAC meeting on Thursday had directed the owners of three petrol pumps in Liberty and one in Gulshane Ravi constructed on the land of LDA to forward their leasing record. It was disclosed after the record was presented before PAC meeting that the leasing period of said petrol pumps had expired in 1999, 1995, 1994 and 2004 and the LDA had not held new auction of these petrol pumps as per rules.

Director General LDA informed the PAC on Thursday that they used to hold auction of LDA land within one year after the expiry of previous leases. But the record presented before the PAC on Friday reflected that the lease of Ameen Service Station (PSO) expired six years back, the lease of MS Park View Station Liberty expired in 1999, of MS Gulshan Service Station Liberty (Shell) expired in 1995 while the lease of MS Diamond Filling Station at Gulshane Ravi Timber Market expired in 1994. It was further informed the PAC that the owner of Gulshan Service Station Liberty had got a stay order in 2008. DG LDA could not give satisfactory response to the queries of PAC as why they did hold auction off this state land after expiry of its lease. They further inquired from him that the Gulshan Service Station owner got stay order in 2008 while his lease expired in 1995 and why LDA had not auctioned this land from 1995 to 2008. DG LDA could not give any answer to it.

PAC Chairman and other members decided to write a letter to Advocate General Punjab to take notice of legal position of those cases of petrol pumps having stay orders. They further directed the legal advisor of LDA to present real facts to the court that the owners of these petrol pumps were earning millions but they were not paying a single penny to the national exchequer.

PAC further directed DG LDA for immediately vacating all the illegally occupied lands and to hold its auction without any delay. They have reprimanded the inquiry officer of LDA for his failure to present an inquiry record of illegal allotments of 188 plots worth Rs 288 million within 24 hours. The inquiry officer told the PAC that his mandate was to identify bogus allotments but he could not pinpoint the responsible people. He gave verbal record of the entire inquiry. Ch Zaheer appreciated the Secretary Housing for not hiding facts while directing the DG LDA to complete the inquiry and fix the responsible without delay.