LDA mulls giving ownership rights to 'occupants'

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

LAHORE - Instead of tracing the real owners, Lahore Development Authority (LDA) is considering the option of giving proprietary rights to the occupants of all disputed plots in its various housing schemes, The Nation learnt on Friday. LDA is formulating a ‘Drain Bonafide Policy’ to put an end to disputes regarding ownership of thousands of plots in its various schemes.
However the actual beneficiaries of such policy would be the land grabbers and illegal occupiers who prepared and possessed forged and bogus files, which they used to sell out twice or even thrice. Land mafia, comprising influential persons and patronised by some government officials and politicians is very powerful and possess uncountable plots in various housing schemes of LDA.
According to a data collected from IT Department of Lahore Development Authority, as many as 1,061 plots, located in only one housing scheme, Muhammad Ali Johar Town of LDA are disputed and are in the possession of land grabbers. However, out of such total about 479 plots located in phase one, while 582 plots located in phase two.
An official of LDA, on the request of anonymity said that the authorities of the department in fact failed to control the illegal activities of land mafia and now LDA wanted to dispose of fake claims and cases of land grabbing mafia through this way. And that is why LDA could not even succeed to retrieve precious land from the mafias.
He said the higher authorities are implementing such policy to get rid of all the pending disputes regarding the files of plots of existing housing schemes with the LDA.
Further, LDA is also compelled to adopt this policy as for the time being it might give some benefit to a few land grabbers but in future it will help the LDA to streamline its plot allotment system, he added.