Punjab govt fails to achieve land revenue target

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

Wednesday, May 26, 2010
By Jawwad Rizvi

LAHORE

The Punjab government is likely to fail in meeting the land revenue collection target set for the fiscal year 2009-10, as it could collect only Rs 484 million in the first 10 months from July to April.

The provincial government had fixed the target of Rs 13.65 billion land revenue collection target for this fiscal year from the privatization of its land, agricultural land sale, agriculture machinery sales, asset sales, rent from Evacuee Property Trust Board buildings and others.

As per the figures available with The News the provincial government had fixed the target of Rs 12.95 billion from the sale various vacant land of the province. Contrary to this, only Rs 148.8 million has been collected in this tune in the first 10 months of the fiscal year.

However, the provincial government has surpassed the revenue generation target from the sale of vacant agriculture lands. It has collected Rs 195.8 million in the 10 months of fiscal year against the target of Rs 10 million.

But it has failed to sell out the land to the tenants, as only Rs 104.1 million had collected in this tune against the target of Rs 500 million. The government had collected Rs 1.3 million from various fee and fines, only Rs 92,336 from sale of agriculture machinery, Rs 7.1 million from evacuee property trust board buildings.

The government has managed Rs 14.2 million against the target of Rs 25 million as mark-up from the amount recovered from the sale of various lands.

Similarly, the government had collected Rs 11.1 million from the sale of plots in the industrial estates, and only Rs 5 lakh in the head of miscellaneous revenue collection against the target of Rs 75.9 million.

The sources in the finance department said the economic slowdown was the main factor in missing the land revenue collection target. Further, the targets were also ambitious which could not be achieved as the atmosphere for privatization is also not conducive in the country, they said adding the federal government has also missed its privatization targets this year. Legal actions been taken by the higher judiciary is also another major factor in the slow privatization process as in the recent past the apex court had taken suo motu actions in the dubious privatization deals.