LAHORE: Thanks to the diligent oversight and effective follow-up of the Office of the Ombudsman Punjab, led by retired Maj. Azam Suleman Khan, the payment of a cumulative remuneration of Rs152 million has been started to 506 owners as the price of 300-kanal land acquired by the district collector of Sheikhupura for the construction of the Lahore-Karachi Motorway Interchange at Mauza Faizpur Khurd, Dhudian and Sagian Par Kalan.
The spokesman of the Office of the Ombudsman confirmed the development in a statement on Sunday.
This momentous development marks the resolution of the prolonged predicament faced by these landowners, who have been awaiting compensation for their acquired portions of land since 2016, the spokesman maintained.
While giving details, the spokesman added that Mian Riazuddin and Mansoor Ali of Lahore said in their applications, submitted to the ombudsman office, that payments for their acquired lands have not been made by the provincial government.
According to their applications, they not only sought the rightful payments based on the deputy commissioner’s rate but also demanded additional compensation for the utilisation of their acquired lands since 2016.
During the proceedings, it came out that in addition to the issue of double registration of Khasra numbers, there were some delays in the land acquisition process.
Consequently, the ombudsman office promptly informed the Board of Revenue (BOR) that, prima facie, there was a lack of oversight in monitoring the performance of land acquisition collectors, after their attachments with provincial government departments.
As a result, substantial funds deposited in the land acquisition collectors’ accounts, by the government, remain unused, causing delays in compensating the affected individuals.
Therefore, an institutionalised system should be devised by the BOR for monitoring the land acquisition collectors’ performance, and ensuring timely payments to the owners of acquired lands, the spokesman added.
Thanks to the continued efforts and liaison with the offices of the commissioner of Lahore and deputy commissioner of Sheikhupura, the district price assessment committee Sheikhupura has settled the compensation price of the acquired lands and payments to the landowners have started by the office of the assistant commissioner/land acquisition collector, Ferozwala, said the spokesman.
