LAHORE, May 3: A Lahore Development Authority
team succeeded on Thursday in retrieving nearly 250-kanal land falling under the LDA Avenue-1 residential scheme on Raiwind Road after facing a day-long resistance from ‘illegal occupants’ that led to injuries to over a dozen people, including a deputy superintendent of police.
The land occupants carrying sticks attacked the LDA team, led by Additional Director General (headquarters) Ms Marium Kayani, when it reached the site along with police. The occupants thrashed the Chuhng police DSP and some LDA officials
besides manhandling Ms Kayani. Police in return also gave them a thrashing.
Ms Kayani, who was mobbed by some women, also thrashed one of the attackers in self-defence.
“I acted in self-defence when a woman got hold of my shawl and tried to drag me,” she told Dawn.
The angry protesters chanted slogans against the LDA and the Punjab government for ejecting them illegally and forcibly from the land owned by them for long. They alleged the LDA team had got possession of their land forcibly despite the fact they had already refused to surrender their land at the time of LDA Avenue-1 launch over a decade ago.Despite heavy aerial firing, manhandling and stone pelting, the LDA operation continued for over eight hours.
The day-long scuffles left several protesters and officials injured, including special judicial magistrate Bushra Naseer, three women constables, a DSP and two other LDA officials.
Giving details, Ms Kayani said the LDA had announced this scheme in the year 2002 in the public interest and acquired land under the Land Acquisition Act. She said though a majority of the land owners had already received compensation for their
surrendered land, there were some who were yet to give possession of their land to the LDA despite the fact their land had already been acquired and the requisite compensatory amounts/money had been deposited with the bank for disbursing
among them.
When asked why the LDA had ejected the occupants from their land forcibly, she said under the law the land they were in possession had become LDA property after it announced the launch of Avenue-I scheme under the Land Acquisition Act.
She said it was the right of the government under the law to decide whatever in public interest whether through developing residential schemes or any other activity.
She said prior to this operation, the LDA had failed to retrieve land from the occupants on three occasions. She said the LDA had allotted plots to 2,800 applicants in this scheme and a number of them were waiting for the possession of their land.
She said there were also some pieces of land at this scheme that were yet to be retrieved from illegal occupants.
“We will resume this operation for retrieving the remaining land under illegal possession,” she said.
Meanwhile, on an application of the LDA, the Chuhng police have registered a case against 10 people, besides arresting six of them, for quarrelling with government officials and disrupting the official work.
GRACE PERIOD: The LDA team meanwhile offered a grace period of three days to the occupants of another piece of land measuring seven kanals.
As per the written agreement between the two parties in this regard, staff of the revenue department as well as the LDA will jointly determine the status of the said piece of land and decide whether it was a part of the land already acquired by the LDA for the scheme. In case of its being the part of the scheme, the illegal occupants will be bound to demolish the construction themselves within three days failing which the LDA will do the needful.
INQUIRY: Commissioner Jawad Rafique Malik took serious notice of thrashing of a woman protester by LDA ADG (Headquarters) Ms Marium Kayani. The commissioner directed Lahore DCO/LDA Chairman Noorul Amin Mengal and LDA Director General Ahad Cheema to initiate an inquiry against Ms Marium Kayani and submit a fact-finding report to him within 24 hours.