Over 1,600 kanals to be bought to widen road to Raiwind

[LahoreEstate]

* DOR’s July notification directs officials to survey land for acquisition
* PML-Q MPA says no need to develop 4-lane road for another 10 years

By Rana Kashif

LAHORE: The Lahore district officer revenue (DOR) issued a notification for the acquisition of 1,621 kanals of land for the widening of the road from Thokar Niaz Baig to Raiwind, sources told Daily Times.

As part of the project, the road – currently having four lanes – would have four more lanes added to it at the approximate cost of Rs 21 billion, they said.

The notification No-LAC/449-2009 dated July 4, 2009 states, “Whereas it appears to the District Officer Revenue Lahore that the land is likely to be required by the government at public expenses for a public purpose namely widening/improvement of road from Thokar Niaz Baig to Raiwind Road.”

Survey: The notification was made under the provisions of Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and the officials concerned were directed to survey the land in the locality.

According to the details, 80-kanal land would be acquired in village Niaz Baig, 280 kanals in village Rakh Khamba, 300 kanals in Bhoptian, 60 kanals in Chak No-62 Kot Jewen Mal, 25 kanals in Bhalai Gill, 25 kanals in Ameer Pura, 185 kanals in Janjatey, 110 kanals in Rai, 80 kanals in Rakh Rai, 180 kanals in Paji, 180 kanals in Rakh Judho Dheer, 110 kanals in Raiwind, two kanals in Rakh Paji and two kanals in village Tarogil.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) has criticised this act of the Punjab government and demanded that the Punjab chief minister should treat all districts of the province as equal. PML-Q MPA Mohsin Khan Leghari, in a statement, said by spending billions of rupees on such projects, public money was being wasted on one hand and on the other it was creating sense of deprivation among the less developed and neglected districts of the province.

No need: He said the road being widened was already a four-lane road, and there was no need to develop the road for the next 10 years.

Leghari stated that the Punjab government allocated Rs 5 billion for the entire South Punjab, and announced a special Rs 5 billion package for Bahawalpur only after a lot of hue and cry. He said Rs 250 million had been allocated for a medical college in Dera Ghazi Khan, which was actually a Rs 2 billion project. He said this meant that the college would be completed in 80 years.

He said the Punjab government should treat all districts on an equal basis rather than spending huge amounts of public money on roads leading to a palace in Raiwind.

http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?pag...009_pg13_2