LAHORE:After being denied rightful transfer of a property by Lahore Development Authority (LDA), a citizen has threatened to set himself ablaze.
The issue was discussed in bureaucratic circles when focal person of Prime Minister’s Complaint Cell took it up during an online meeting recently. “Who will be responsible for the loss to the complainant in case he did what he said,” sources said while quoting the focal person of Prime Minister’s Complaint Cell Adil Safi.
Sources claimed that focal person of Prime Minister’s Complaint Cell told the meeting that the complainant came to his office and warned that he would set himself ablaze if he was not given justice.
Sources maintained that Moeen Sheikh, the complainant lodged a complaint against LDA’s top management for not transferring a plot into his name after his father’s death.
Sources said that the complainant claimed that the LDA was not transferring his plot no 483, Block-J/2, Johar Town (File No. JT.NB-2/3405) to him on the pretext that the land didn’t exist in LDA’s record, whereas his father purchased the house as a bonafide purchaser in 2006 and LDA transferred the house in the name of his father Amin Sheikh.
Sources said the complainant ran from pillar to post in LDA but didn’t get any kind of relief after which he filed the complaint, visited different government offices and as a last measure he finally threatened to set himself ablaze.
Sources said the complainant also claimed that the same plot was transferred thrice but now the LDA’s Director Land Development (DLD) was telling him that the land didn’t exist in LDA’s scheme. When contacted, LDA’s Director Land Development Sibtain Raza said the file was cancelled by the former DLD Moazam Rasheed. Answering a question that the complainant claimed that the plot was already transferred thrice, the DLD said that there were cases in LDA in which properties were transferred for five or more times.
He said in this case, the land was sold to a private scheme by the owner but LDA allotted the particular plot. He said the applicant was told about the facts and he was asked to file a case in LDA's Commission as a bonafide purchaser. He said the complainant agreed and submitted his application at the one window and paid the fee of the application to be processed by the Commission. He said that LDA’s Commission had powers to hear such cases but unfortunately the tenure of the chairman of the Commission had expired. “The summary for the appointment of the Commission chairman was pending with the chief minister’s office,” he said, adding LDA had no powers to decide any case of this nature because it was the jurisdiction of the commission.
On the other hand, as per LDA’s Commission rules 2014, the Chairman of the Commission under rule 8 (Proceedings of the Commission) can hear cases of bonafide purchaser(s) and may recommend retrieval of property in favour of Authority, transfer of property in favour of the applicant and transfer of property in the name of the applicant after payment to the authority as decided by the Commission.
According to the rules, the government may appoint a retired Judge of Supreme Court or High Court as the Chairman of the Commission and the member of the commission will be a judge of Supreme Court or High Court or a retired officer of BS-20 having an experience of 20 years of working in public sector. Sources claimed that in absence of the Chairman of the Commission, a large number of citizens were facing problems in transferring properties. Sources claimed that around 50 to 60 cases were pending in LDA to be processed by the Commission and applicants were waiting for the appointment of chairman of the Commission by the chief minister. The scribe tried to contact Additional Director General (Housing) Qadeer Ahmed Bajwa and also left message on his WhatsApp to get his view over the issue but he didn’t bother to attend. The scribe also called LDA director general but his official cell phone was found switched off.
