Providing shelter to the poor: Political heads must not make fake promises: LHC

The Lahore High Court ruled that the political heads of the federation and province should abstain from making fake promises of providing home to poor citizens in public meetings for the sake of political gain. The court made these ruling while hearing a civil case pending for eight years wherein Chairman Municipal Committee Toba Tek Singh, without having any such authority, entered into an agreement and allotted plots to different persons in Jinnah Housing Colony-2.
Interestingly the agreement starts with words, "Honourable Prime Minister" and "Honourable Chief Minister" which become a matter of concern for the court. The respondent's counsel has placed on record such information and the court directed to place all such proceedings before the next date of hearing on October 7.
When the law officer failed to convince the court, he was told, "Not only that the legal competence of the prime minister or the chief minister has not been explained, but all presents, including the law officer have failed to show any justification for the Board of Revenue member to direct for any such allotments. No scheme has been shown to have been approved by the Board of Revenue in this regard and nothing has been notified to make competent the Chairman Municipal Committee to enter into any contract or agreement or to sign any allotment letter.
"It seems all jugglery on political side. The political heads of the federation and province are used to make promises in different public meetings and then by means of such like fake and sham proceedings, the poor shelter less citizens are being provided hope for the provision of their shelters," the court ruled.
"For all practical purposes, such promises and even allotment orders made in black and white are not being given any effect and the persons, so subjected to face miseries, are left to enter into a protracted litigation. The present civil revision petition is one example of such an attitude adopted by the persons, who matters in the set up to the poor citizens. Such a practice must be discouraged and the political personalities holding public offices must refrain from causing such unfounded promises." Advocate Rana Rashid Akram Khan said the issue stood resolved by two judgements passed by this court and one passed by the Supreme Court where under some committee of stated impartial personalities was constituted to resolve the issue a decade ago. "Even no outcome of working of the said committee is available before the court, if conducted ever."