RAHIM YAR KHAN: On the orders of Lahore High Court (LHC), the Sadiqabad Municipal Committee (MC) sealed 437 shops of a shopping mall near railway station on Wednesday, a handout issued by deputy director public relations said.

The matter of MC had been in litigation since 2015. Later, on the instructions of LHC, an inquiry committee, headed by member Board of Revenue Punjab, declared the shopping mall property of MC.

The shopkeepers owed rent worth more than Rs100 million to the municipal committee. Owing to non-payment of rent and on the orders of LHC, the MC sealed the shopping mall.

Sadiqabad Assistant Commissioner Hamid Hammad said before 2015, a few ‘fraudulent’ persons after getting ‘illegal’ no objection certificate (NOC) from the irrigation department, showed the shopping mall a property of the irrigation department. On the basis of ‘illegal’ NOC, the suspects claimed to have got the shopping mall on lease.

The AC said in 2015 the irrigation department terminated its NOC and declared the shopping mall a property of the MC. But its shopkeepers refused to pay the rent of the shops and filed cases in different courts. On Wednesday, the MC took the possession of the shopping mall.

The AC said the MC did not want to affect the business of any shopkeeper and if they would pay the arrears, the shops would be opened.

On the other hand, a senior resident of Sadiqabad requesting anonymity told this correspondent that with the alleged support of a former local PML-N MPA, an influential land grabber late Chaudhry Sadiq offered the shopkeepers that he would get these shops transferred to them. As a result, the shopkeepers stopped paying rent to MC and paid huge amounts to him for getting ownership of the shops. Consequently, the matter complicated and the MC was deprived of the rent.

TRAIN STOPOVER: Pakistan Railways has approved the stopover of up and down Karakoram Express at Rahim Yar Khan railway station.

According to a letter of chief operating superintendent Pakistan Railways Headquarters Office Lahore and signed by chief commercial manager, the competent authority has recommended to allow the stoppage of 41Up/42Down Karakoram Express at Rahim Yar Khan railway station on a trial basis for a period of one month.

Earlier, Rahim Yar Khan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RYKCCI) member Farzand Ali Farhat filed an application with the railway ministry for restoration of grade III status of RYK railway station, approval of stoppage and reservation quota for 5Up/ 6Down Green Line Express and 41Up/42Down Karakoram Express and improvement of basic facilities at the railway station.

Farhat also sent the revenue details to PR headquarters stating that Rs30.83 million were generated at RYK railway station.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2023