National Assembly body takes notice of Railways land lease at throwaway prices

National Assembly's standing committee on Railways on Tuesday took serious notice of leasing out the land owned by the Railways for commercial use at throwaway prices in various divisions. The committee, which met here with Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in the chair, expressed serious concern that railways lands in various divisions of Pakistan Railways which have been leased out on a low price or where the land in question was in litigation.
The committee observed that PR has suffered a loss of billion of rupees, as the interests of Railways was not properly watched by the authorities concerned, particularly in the circumstances where railways land has been grabbed by some individuals in connivance with Railway Standing Counsels and with the official of legal directorate of Railway headquarters.
The members recommended that railways land should be properly utilised by commercialising it with the consultation of the provinces and it should be leased out through transparent bidding process keeping in view the marketing value of the land. The committee further directed that all the divisional superintendents of Pakistan Railways should personally take interest in litigation regarding railways land and pursue the matter vigorously.
The members also recommended that attorney general, advocate general should be asked to make a request to the apex courts to adjudicate the cases for early hearing. The committee directed the Chairman Railways to negotiate with the illegal occupants of railways' land and work out the policy to lease out that land at market price.
The committee constituted a sub-committee headed by Nauman Islam Sheikh MNA, which would inspect and categorise railways land in various divisions and determine its utilisation on commercial basis to generate maximum fund for the welfare of railways with consultation of provincial governments. Federal Minister for Railways Ghulam Ahmad Bilour also attended the meeting.