Land for Shuhada: Railways at loggerheads with Punjab government, DHA

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Railways, while questioning allotment of 34 acres Railways land in Bahawalpur to the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) has directed the defence secretaryand Punjab chief secretary to brief the committee on the issue.

The Senate Standing Committee Chairman, Sardar Fateh Muhammad Hasani, during the meeting held on Thursday, said as to how the land was handed over to the DHA. The meeting was informed that the Bahawalpur deputy commissioner illegally allotted land to the DHA.

On that, the committee chairman questioned as to who gave the deputy commissioner powers to allot railways land to the DHA. Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, who also attended the meeting, told the committee members that 140-kilometre long railway track would have to be relocated due to allotment of 34 acres land to DHA. He said the Pakistan Railways would move the court to get their land back.

He said the Punjab government had moved a summary to the chief minister seeking withdrawal of land allotted to the DHA.“ Only today, I have heard that the summary has been withdrawn,” the minister said.

During the meeting, the officials from Pakistan Railways told the parliamentarians that they were agreed to give land to the DHA. “We ask them as to why they want our land when they already have 1,600 acres for their scheme,” Pakistan Railway officials said.

But they said the Director General Military Lands told them the land was required for heirs of Shuhda. The committee chairman and other members, however, lauded performance of the Pakistan Railways in recent years.

The minister informed the meeting that the railways earned an income of Rs36 billion during the last fiscal year and next year’s target is Rs40 billion and it would be further enhanced to Rs50 billion per year. He said the department earned Rs1.8 billion from the Armed Forces while providing them freight services. He said that monthly salary package for trains drivers would be increased from Rs70,000 to Rs100,000 per month.