LAHORE
PML-N Members of Provincial Assembly (MPAs) are behind the fall of District Coordination Officer and Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Chairman Sajjad Ahmed Bhutta, once among the favourites of CM Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, who survived all bureaucratic shake-ups ever since PML-N formed government in Punjab.
The parliamentarians had prepared the charge sheet against DCO to be allegedly taking monthly commission from Land Mafia for delaying regularization of 37 Katchi Abadidies and 6 housing societies with lingering process of ownership rights to settlers in Harbanspura, CM secretariat official told The Pakistan Today.
“They had briefed CM Punjab Shahbaz Sharif about DCO’s tales of corruptions and planned to submit the charge sheet with documented proofs,” he said.
Taking cognizance of severity of situation, official said, Punjab government made “corruption machine” an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) here on Thursday.
A senior official of CDGL said that CM Punjab constituted a committee comprises MPA Mian Naveed Anjum, MPA Rana Tajamul Hussain, CM coordinator Haji Waheed Gul, DO (Revenue) Zulfiqar Ghumman, DDO (Revenue) Saleha Saeed, Commissioner Khusru Pervaiz to conduct the survey to regularize the 37 Katchi Abadies and 6 housing societies on state land in Harbanspura.
Later, committee composition was changed and it comprised both MPAs and DCO Sajjad Ahmed Bhutta.
He said that friction emerged between parliamentarians and DCO when latter announced 8th survey of Katchi Abadies and housing societies.
Smelling the rat, issue was investigated and it was unearthed that DCO Sajjad Ahmed Bhutta had availing financial benefits from the Land Mafia which did not want the regularization and provision of ownership rights to the inhabitants as any step had to disclose their network to sale and purchase of land by their own will and business of exploitation through extortion, he explained.
Asked to MPA Naveed Anjum replied that there were proven facts that DCO was involved in taking monthly commission and in return had been lingering the matter. With the regularization of Katchi Abadies and housing colonies, government had to receive Rs. 6 billion revenue. However DCO continued using delaying-tactics for his personal gains, he added.
“We had also strong evidences that DCO got the commission of Rs. 0.7 million in Rs. 5 million contract of Sunday Bazaar in Tajpura Scheme,” he said.
Numerous stories of corruption unleashed by DCO had been made part of charge-sheet which was planned to be placed before the CM Punjab Shahabaz Sharif.
However, former DCO Sajjad Ahmed Bhutta said that accusation against him was due to some misunderstanding. He said that reason behind the multiple surveys was due to complexity of the formation of Katchi Abadies existing before partition.
The 6 housing societies are Nazir Garden, Abid Garden, Hajvari Housing Scheme, Taj Bagh Housing Scheme, New Canal Park and Amir Town.
The 37 Katchi Abadies included Mochi Pura, Islam Pura, Hussain Park, Rasool Pura, Itehad Town (former), Itehad Town (additional), Hanif Park, Mehtab Pura, Madina Town, Asim Town, Ibrahim Colony, Madni Park, Harbanspura, Qalandar Pura, Rehman Pura (Rani Pind), Rehman Pura (additional), Rheman Pura (old), Habib block, Nawab Pura, Mohalah Jewan Shah, Haji Pura, Jalal Park, Pir Naseer Abadi, Usman bloc, Barkat Town, Dera Abdul Hakeem old), Dera Abdul Hakeem (additional), Manzoor colony, Jalal colony, Badar colony, Ghulistan Colony, Saddiq Pura, Dogaidg colony, Zubair Park, Chujgi Gujjar Pura, Nawan Pind, Chaudhary Colony. These katchi Abadies have been waiting to be registered under the Punjab Katchi Abadies Act 1992.
Survey was given go ahead after the Punjab Assembly passed the Punjab Katchi Abadis (Amendment) Bill 2009.
The objective of the survey was to assess the physical impact-changes happened or made in the overall physical fabrics in Katchi Abadi through development and improvement Programmes .
The main emphasis was to assess the changes in the layout of the settlements-katchi abadis, construction of houses, addition of rooms, and changes made in the covered area of the houses, water schemes, sewerage and drainage plans, road infrastructures and utility services.
They are 3 types of performa used in surveys. Performa A involves geographical demarcation of Katchi abadi, location, Moza and total land. It also features number of registered unites (houses), number of residents, date of regularization, date of transfer to LDA or TMA and number of people who have been awarded or not the ownership rights of the land in possession. Performa B includes available infrastructure in Katchi Abadies like provisions of waterlines, sewerage and drainage pipes, roads, streets, sanitation, sui gas, electricity and street lights. It also entails details of government dispensaries and private dispensaries, maternity centers, vocational schools run by NGOs and number of primary, middle and high schools. Performa also demands the performance reports of all medial and educational units and if they do not exist, at what distance they are available. It also has categories for the details of private tuition centers, empty plots, unconstructed spaces, worship places, graveyards and means of earning of dwellers in Katchi Abadies.
Performa C wants details of general information regarding number of technical and non-technical people living in Katchi Aabides and details of business and trade activities and ratio of encroachments.
Unregistered yet:
Housing Societies (6)
Nazir Garden, Abid Garden, Hajvari Housing Scheme, Taj Bagh Housing Scheme, New Canal Park, Amir Town
Katchi Abadis (37)
Mochi Pura, Islam Pura, Hussain Park, Rasool Pura, Itehad Town (former), Itehad Town (additional), Hanif Park, Mehtab Pura, Madina Town, Asim Town, Ibrahim Colony, Madni Park, Harbanspura, Qalandar Pura, Rehman Pura (Rani Pind), Rehman Pura (additional), Rheman Pura (old), Habib block, Nawab Pura, Mohalah Jewan Shah, Haji Pura, Jalal Park, Pir Naseer Abadi, Usman block Barkat Town, Dera Abdul Hakeem old), Dera Abdul Hakeem (additional), Manzoor colony, Jalal colony, Badar Clony, Ghulistan Colony, Saddiq Pura, Dogaidg colony, Zubair Park, Chujgi Gujjar Pura, Nawan Pind, Chaudhary Colony
