ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee for Railways on Thursday discussed in detail the issues related to the illegal occupation of Railways lands by individuals in the four provinces and devised a mechanism to recover the state lands.
The meeting was chaired by Senator Fateh Muhammad Hasni at Parliament House. The members inquired from the officials of Railways about the lands in possession of individuals in Sindh.
The Railways officials said that incomplete record of land was available which made it difficult to take any action.
Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique told the committee that land had been recovered in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan but the Supreme Court’s (SC) decision was not being implemented in Sindh and Punjab.
He said that there was no political obstruction but the bureaucracy was creating hurdles for recovery of land in Punjab and Sindh.
He said that SC could resolve this issue, adding Railways recovered 4400 kanals of land in Wazirabad. He further said that the Shalimar Hospital in Lahore was also built on Railways land and the ministry was asking for an alternative for the land taken by the hospital.
Saad said that in the past, nobody took care of the lands owned by Railways, adding that the courts were issuing stay orders on land issues without hearing the viewpoint of Railways.
The chairman of the committee was of the view that illegal occupation of Railways land could affect the China – Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
He said that Royal Palm Golf and Country Club in Lahore is an example of the illegal occupation of the land during the period of dictatorship.
He further said that the issue of Karachi Circular Railway will be put before the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet, adding that the ministry was waiting for China’s response for funding of the project.
The minister criticised National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for not going after the real corrupt people, adding that the people who committed big fraud were roaming freely. He further said that he took a case of fraud to NAB but no progress was made in that case.
During the discussion on a political issue, the minister clarified that Nawaz Sharif did not give any statement about former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar.
He said that the party leadership had decided that Nawaz Sharif should travel on motorway instead of GT road as there were security concerns.