ISLAMABAD: The committee comprising the Old Grant leaseholders’ representatives and officials of Rawalpindi and Chaklala Cantonment Board (CCB) proposed several relaxations in the lease policy which would be sent to the defence secretary for approval after its finalisation.

The Old Grant leaseholders in civic limits of Rawalpindi Cantonment Board have sought a number of relaxations in the 2007 lease policy, including waiver of surcharge on delay in conversion from Old Grant leases into regular one; reduction of lease charges(premium) to minimum level, and the abolition of extra charges on change of purpose of the lease from residential to commercial.

The committee was constituted on the direction of the Director General Military Lands and Cantonments (DG MLC) following a meeting of the affected people of Rawalpindi Cantonment Board, who have been protesting against what they termed the cruel and irrational policy for conversion of Old Grant leases into the regular one.

After listening to the grievances of the affected people, whose number was in thousands, the DGMLC directed the executive office of the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board to sit with them and come up with proposed changes to the lease policy so that the same could be sent to defence secretary for final consideration.

Changes seek reduction in premium, abolition of extra charges on lease conversion

The committee comprising the representatives of Old Grant leaseholders, elected members of the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board and its officials after threadbare deliberations and discussions evolved a consensus on contentious issues and prepared proposed changes to the policy to make it acceptable to the Old Grant leaseholders which was in limbo since its announcement in 2007.

Mohammad Farooq Chaudhry, a member of the committee representing Old Grant leaseholders, informed that they have been opposing the lease policy 2007 since its inception because it is full of flaws. The penalty and premium money for conversion of the Old Grant lease into a regular one is so high that it would be tantamount to repurchase the property.

Secondly, the rates for change in status of the property from residential into commercial are abnormally high whereas most of the properties with Old Grant lease status have been in commercial use for decades as these properties are located in the commercial hub of the cantonment like Bank Road, Hospital Road and other Bazaar area, Mohammad Farooq Chaudhry, who is president of Twin Cities Restaurants Association, explained.

He further informed that the residential properties surrounded by commercial areas were converted into commercial properties as it would not be possible for owners to use them as residential units. All these properties are treated as commercial properties as they have commercial electricity, water and gas connections while Rawalpindi Cantonment Board is also charging them commercial property tax.

Sharing details of the proposed changes the committee has submitted to the office of DG MLC for further action Mohammad Farooq Chaudhry said that first of all they wanted waiver of the penalty or surcharge on the conversion of the Old Grant leases into regular ones and secondly they wanted a drastic slash in the premium of lease conversion, as most of the Old Grant leaseholders are in possession of these properties for generations and in certain cases the leases were secured more than a century ago.

Secondly, the penalty on change of purpose of these leases from residential to commercial should also be waived as the owners of these properties were compelled to change the status of their properties since they were located in the thick of the business hub of the cantonment, he explained.

The proposed changes also included the lifting of the bar on the sale of the properties held under Old Grant as the leaseholders are absolute owners of the superstructures on the leased land and no law of the land can bar them from selling their property.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2023