Housing schemes: Khosa seeks suggestions to simplify laws on land transfer

[Salman]

Senior Advisor to Chief Minister, Senator, Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa, has directed authorities of Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency to present their recommendations for simplifying and uniformity of the laws regarding transfer of housing scheme plots. He gave these directions while presiding over a high-level meeting of officers of LDA and Punjab Housing and Town Planning in Lahore.

The meeting was attended by Malik Muhammad Pervaiz, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Zaeem Hussain Qadri, members Provincial Assembly, Chaudhry Shahbaz Ahmed, Ramazan Siddique Bhatti, besides Secretary Housing and Public Health Engineering, Additional Director General LDA besides officers of the concerned departments. Sardar Zulfiqar Ali stressed the need for reviewing in detail the laws relating to transfer of plots in the housing societies of Lahore Development Authority and Housing Department.

He said that 'Bonafide Purchaser's Policy' should be reviewed, along with its conditionality in order to mitigate problems being faced by genuine buyers during the transfer of property. He also directed officers to remove illegal occupations on government land and plots, especially pinpointing those plots, which have are undergoing prolonged litigations. He said those commercial plots, which are legally clear should be auctioned under the law.

The meeting also reviewed matters relating to Wassanpura, Gawala Colony, Nishter Colony and other residential colonies and decided to call two representatives each from these colonies, so that solution to their problems could be found. The meeting also decided to lower the reserve price of those plots, which could not be auctioned because of high reserve price.