‘34,110 shops being auctioned by revenue board’

LAHORE:Member Colonies, Board of Revenue Punjab, Abdul Waheed Malik has said 34,110 shops built on state land across Punjab are being auctioned by the Board of Revenue Punjab, adding District Rent Committees, under the supervision of Additional Deputy Commissioners, have rented out 25,515 shops.

He was speaking at a meeting of the District Land Price and District Auction Committees on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by Secretary Colonies Shah Rukh Niazi, deputy commissioners, and additional commissioners (revenue) from various districts via video link.

During the meeting, Abdul Waheed Malik revealed that the Board of Revenue has approved the sale of five acres of state land for the construction of the vegetable market in Mandi Bahauddin at a rate of Rs12 million per acre. Additionally, 25 kanals of land in Sargodha have been sold at Rs3 million per marla for the establishment of a 132 KV grid station. He stated that District Land Price Committees are assessing the value of state land, while District Auction Committees are responsible for auctioning and renting out government-built shops.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Price Assessment Committee has determined the prices of 24,721 shops, and the auction process for 3,237 shops has been successfully completed.

These shops are located in Okara, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Vehari, Bhakkar, Khanewal, Khushab, Jhang, Sahiwal, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Toba Tek Singh, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Sheikhupura, Rahim Yar Khan, Pakpattan, Gujranwala, Jhelum, Multan, Kasur, Bahawalpur, Lodhran, Chakwal, DG Khan, Gujrat, Nankana Sahib, Sialkot, Murree, Rajanpur, Narowal, and Attock. In District Hafizabad, shop auctions will take place from February 15 to 17, in Vehari from February 15 to 30, and in Narowal on February 4.

Advertisements for these auctions have already been published in national newspapers. Abdul Waheed Malik said that the auction of these government-built shops would discourage illegal land encroachments and generate revenue for the Punjab government.