LAHORE: In a dubious deal, the Punjab University (PU) has given its five-kanal prime land to Lesco, practically free of cost, to get in return a grid station for the PU Employees Housing Society.

The deal smacks of a mala fide abuse of power since the land is official and the housing society private.

Higher education officials argue that the housing society residents should have financially contributed to the establishment of a grid station but the university officials insist that the society is being run under the umbrella of the PU Syndicate.

Recently, there was a hue and cry over selling of the university land to the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) besides a deal with the Daewoo bus service a few years ago.

The Punjab Higher Education Department had last month constituted a four-member committee led by Additional Secretary Ahmad Kamal Mann to inquire into the facts and circumstances that led to handing over of five kanal to Lesco. The probe committee members were: PU Registrar Dr Khalid Khan, a dean of the university and a deputy secretary.

The inquiry committee, it is learnt, found that Lesco, on the request of society’s management in 2009, had calculated an amount of Rs41.5 million for the construction of a grid station in the housing society for smooth supply of electricity in its Town-I and Town-II on Raiwind Road.

In the meantime, Lesco also contacted the varsity administration for a piece of five-kanal land on varsity’s New Campus to establish a 132/11.5 KV grid station as its load centre was falling within the area.

“The then PU vice chancellor, Dr Mujahid Kamran, had granted approval of an MoU between the PU and Lesco to give five-kanal land to the latter while using his emergency powers under section 15(3) of the University Act 1973. The MoU was later discussed in 1,681st Syndicate meeting and finally approved in 1,682nd Syndicate meeting held on March 1, 2010,” the inquiry committee revealed.

The record revealed that the two parties mutually agreed that the varsity would give five kanal on lease for the construction of a grid station for an initial term of 99 years at a nominal annual rent of Re1 per kanal and in lieu of this, Lesco shall construct a grid station at its own cost in society’s Town-II. The total rent of the leased land was paid to the university in advance, says the agreement. The amount constitutes a figure of Rs495.

Practically, the probe committee says, the PU New Campus land (beside Sohail Iftikhar Research Institute) was given to Lesco free of cost on an agreement that the latter would return the favour by constructing a grid station at the PUEHS on its own without demanding the cost of grid station from the society,” the committee noted.

“In one way, Lesco did pay the cost by constructing grid station on its own at the PUEHS,” the committee remarked, and added that the market value of the five-kanal land might be Rs41.5 million as reflected in the MoU, but this benefit was not transferred to the PU.

Lesco, which recently started construction of the grid station on the PU New Campus, was also given the rights to lay the transmission lines for the grid station under the university land (greenbelt) free of cost without proper study and survey to assess the hazards for the students of the university, says the inquiry report.

Describing the matter as a classic case of how individuals at the helm of affairs played with the organisation’s assets at whims, the inquiry committee has recommended that punitive action should be taken against the vice chancellor for his failure to safeguard the interests of the university as its assets were used for the advantage of a private body.

The HED’s inquiry committee also recommended that the PU should either revoke its lease agreement or demand appropriate compensation from Lesco that may recover the cost of grid station construction from the housing society employees.

It also recommended that the Syndicate review the whole situation as well as the role and responsibility of members of the Syndicate, who were not diligent enough to differentiate between the interests of the PU and the PUEHS, for granting ex-post facto approval to the MoU and the lease agreement.

Sources in the Punjab Higher Education Department told Dawn that the department was preparing to take up the matter with the Punjab governor/chancellor besides referring the case to the Anti-Corruption Department.

PU Registrar Dr Khalid Khan says the grid station in the PUEHS Town-II is not free as the residents had purchased and given 11 kanal to Lesco along with some payment for the construction of a grid station in the society.

He says the five-kanal land on varsity’s New Campus was given to Lesco for public service as it was supposed to construct a 132/11.5KV-Gas Insulated Switchgear grid station and ensure smooth supply of electricity to the university, other public institutions and residential localities in the vicinity.

The Registrar says the incumbent acting vice chancellor had earlier last month written a letter to the society’s management committee to hold elections and take over the charge of the society.

An active resident of the Town-II told Dawn that the university administration was not holding society’s management committee elections fearing that the Town-II residents may get control for being in majority. A decision was taken by the Syndicate in 2011 that a last management committee was being nominated for a period of three years and regular committee would be constituted through elections in 2014.

“We are sending applications every now and then for elections but all in vain,” the resident regretted.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2018