LHC disposes of plea against allotment of Labour Colony flats

The Lahore High Court disposed off a petition on Thursday challenging the quota and wrong allotment of flats in the Punjab Workers Welfare Board Labour Colony situated at Defence Road, Lahore.
However, the court disposing off the petition held that the petitioner should approach the authorities concerned for the redressal of the grievances raised through the petition.
The court directed the petitioner to file an application for the purpose before the Labour and Welfare Department, the Lahore District Coordination officer, Punjab Welfare Board director and the Lahore Labour officer, specifying the names of the ineligible persons. The court ordered the respondents to verify the particulars of these people and ensure that conditions for the allotment were met.
Justice Umar Ata Bandial passed the orders on a petition filed by Asghar Ali, a worker at the Sohrab Cycle and Motorcycle Factory.
Earlier, the petitioner’s counsel submitted that the Punjab Workers Welfare Board had sought applications through an advertisement on April 17, for the allotment of 1296 flats in the Labour Colony on an open draw basis.
However, the Labour and Welfare minister made the open draw for the allotment of 1167 flats only. 129 flats were not allotted or included in draw, he said.
He termed the reservation of the15 percent quota for women, unjustified and said that only 5 to 7 percent of women were employed in factories and that it was not rational to reserve a 15 percent quota for them. The petitioner also mentioned the fraud in the allotment of flats to the disabled and female workers.
He pleaded the court to issue directions for the cancellation of the wrong allotment of flats and demanded that fresh allotment be held with proper assessment of quota on merit. He also pleaded that the remaining 129 flats be included in the draw.