State properties being reclaimed: Basharat

LAHORE:Provincial Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Social Welfare Raja Basharat has said that according to the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the process of reclaiming the state land and properties from illegal occupants is underway.

He was chairing a meeting of a special committee on Punjab Cooperatives Liquidation Board (PCLB) in the Civil Secretariat on Wednesday. Provincial Minister for Cooperatives Muhammad Aslam Bharwana, Additional Chief Secretary Shaukat Ali, cooperatives secretary, law secretary, PCLB chairperson and other officers concerned were also present.

During the last six months, the law minister said, 11 agricultural, commercial and residential properties of the Punjab Cooperatives Department were retrieved from illegal occupants across the province. He said that following transparent auction, the revenue from the properties would be deposited to the public exchequer.

He explained that 45 cases of corruption were detected in connection with these properties, of which 30 were referred to the NAB and 15 to the Anti-Corruption Establishment, while 33 litigations of properties owned by the Cooperatives Department are pending in courts. The provincial law minister urged the officers of the Cooperatives Department to complete the auction process in accordance with the law instead of renting or leasing out the property of the department in future. Illegal occupation should be dealt with an iron hand. Effective measures should be taken to quickly resolve the pending cases, he said. He said that if any legal amendment was necessary in this case, a draft should be submitted immediately.

Action against criminals: On the directions of Punjab Inspector General of Police Shoaib Dastgir, speedy action is being taken against criminals across the province.

In this regard, Jhang DPO Muhammad Hassan Raza Khan said that police were committed to eradicating crimes, including the curse of drugs, from society. In the last month, the DPO stated, Jhang police arrested 159 proclaimed offenders (POs), 97 court absconders and 30 other criminals. Among the arrested POs, seventeen were of A category.

Likewise, 68 drugs peddlers were arrested to purge Jhang of the curse of drugs. Police seized charas, 0.135 kg heroine and 931 bottles of liquor. Following the National Action Plan, 54 accused were arrested for having illegal weapons.