KASUR: The Pattoki tehsil administration is yet to take possession of a building and premises of old tehsil courts situated at Faisal Colony Road despite the fact that the courts have been shifted to the new judicial complex some two years ago.

Tehsil courts had been shifted to the new judicial complex at Baharwal Mor, some six kilometers from the old one, but the building is still occupied by some lawyers. The local judiciary didn’t hand over the judicial rooms to the administration.

Old tehsil courts cover about one acre of expensive land owned by the provincial government while the new judicial complex has been built at a cost of millions of rupees to facilitate lawyers, judicial officers and litigants with modern facilities.

Proceedings being held at new judicial complex for two years; some lawyers have rented out chambers to food sellers

Owing to the [alleged] negligence of the tehsil administration, the old tehsil courts have now been transformed into a food street, having fish, barbecue, used clothes and decoration shops.

The tehsil administration that has recently retrieved expensive land from the occupation of former MNA Rana Muhammad Hayat of PML-N and former DIG-turned-politician Rana Muhammad Aslam Khan of PTI, seems ‘reluctant’ to retrieve the land from the lawyers and local judiciary.

It was learnt that the [chamber] occupants were charging rent up to Rs30,000 from fast food shops.

A lawyer requesting anonymity told Dawn that five expensive shops that belonged to the Pattoki TMA had been sealed on the orders of the Supreme Court, but the occupants had rented out the front portion of the shops and were receiving up to Rs5,000 from vendors. He alleged that a lawyer had demolished public toilets in tehsil courts to build a house that was rented out as well.

A computer centre established at old tehsil courts some years back was locked by the judicial administration after vacating the building but the judiciary ‘seemed reluctant’ to hand over the building to the tehsil admin.

When contacted Pattoki AC Muhammad Asif Dogar said revenue officials, including tehsildar, were working in a building declared dangerous while the local judiciary was reluctant to hand over keys of the computer centre and other rooms that were lying abandoned.

He said the revenue offices were functional in the old rest house of highways department while the building [in a good condition] was occupied by the judiciary.

He said the computer centre could be used for domicile office.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2018