Land grabbers leave people helpless

RAWALPINDI: Helpless public is running from pillar to post for justice to save their hard earned money from ‘land grabbers’ but hundreds of land cases are still pending without decisions in revenue department for years.
Number of complaints against revenue department in the office of Ombudsman (Mohtasib) Punjab, Rawalpindi Region was on top of the list in March.
Ombudsman (Mohtasib) Punjab (Adviser and Member Incharge), Rawalpindi Region Rao Muhammad Iqbal told ‘The News’, “We are getting serious complaints against revenue department in big numbers as compared to other departments. The number of complaints against revenue department is increasing day by day. We are trying to resolve the issues of public in 30 days.”
“We are not only giving decisions but also implementing them in favour of aggrieved parties,” he said.
He said, “We have received 14 complaints against revenue department, eight against Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), three against city district government, Rawalpindi, two against Excise and Taxation, one against Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), eight against Town Municipal Administration (TMA), six against police, twelve against education department, four against health department and two complaints against different universities in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.”
Additional District Collector (ADC) Revenue (Court Officer) Muhammad Ameen said that total 465 revenue cases of different categories are pending here in court from January 2014 to March 2015. It was the performance of one year but hundreds of other revenue cases are pending for years, he claimed.
Additional District Collector (ADC) Revenue Muhammad Arif Raheem said, “I am trying to decide the cases early to resolve revenue related matters of public. It was not possible to decide cases in days.”
When ‘The News’ contacted Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Metropolitan President Sardar Naseem Khan, he showed concerns about revenue department. He admitted all facts and figures and said that these cases have been reported to Ombudsman (Mohtasib) Punjab. “We did not know numberless complaints against revenue department, Rawalpindi because a common man could not approach higher authorities,” he said.
He criticised revenue department, and directed to settle down public matters early otherwise strict action would be taken against responsible people.
It is worth mentioning here that Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif has directed the city district government to crush ‘qabza mafia’ and take strict action against the officials cooperating with the mafia.
On the directives of the CM, the city district government had formed a cell to arrest ‘qabza mafia’. The affected residents had moved applications to the CM asking him to save them from ‘qabza mafia’. The CM had also formed a committee headed by district coordination officer in this regard.