The apex court was informed on Wednesday that Ministry of Railways took over the charge of Royal Palm Golf and Country Club, Lahore, from M/s Ferguson on July 7, 2019. The secretary/chairman Ministry of Railways on Wednesday, in pursuance of the Supreme Court judgement, submitted compliance report before a three-judge bench, headed by Justice Azmat Saeed. The court issued notice to the Auditor General Railways to file a detailed report.
The Supreme Court on June 28 declared lease of Royal Palm Golf and Country Club to the MAX Corps consortium/MHPL non est, null and void ab initio and of no legal effect.
The judgement said the possession of the land given to the lessee under the agreement is to be handed over to Pakistan Railways forthwith along with all the assets and infrastructure. AF Ferguson shall complete handing over of all records and transfer management of the Club within 7 days. The Railways shall be responsible for running the Club and shall nominate its officer(s) or a team of independent professionals, if it deems appropriate to take over and run the Club.
Initially 103 acres of land were given, which were later increased to 141 acres and lease period was enhanced from 33 years to 49 years. All the relevant record/data pertaining to Royal Palm & Golf Country Club available with Pakistan Railways was provided to audit team. The copies of all necessary documents were provided, which resulted in smooth audit of Royal Palm Club. The IT assistance has also been provided to retrieve the old database by activating the old/outdated servers of Royal Palm & Gulf Country Club.
The process for inviting proposal for hiring consultant for 'Transaction Advisory Services' initiated w.e.f. 18-07-19, as proper mechanism has been adopted for hiring of consultant in line with 'Procurement of Consultancy Services Regulations, 2010' and in this regard 'quality and cost based' method has been adopted.
A management committee headed by Chief Executive Officer/Sr General Manager and senior members of Railways has been constituted to run the affairs of Royal Palm Golf & Country Club. Out of 30 golf carts, only two were in working condition. However, with the efforts of Railways' engineers, 10 carts have been brought in working condition within the short span of two weeks.
Only eight grass cutting machines are in working condition. All-out efforts are being made by the Railways engineers and technicians to repair the out of order machinery to cater the requirement of the golf course.
At present, there are 358 golfers and out of 3,363 members only 1,628 are active, while the rest of them are not only absent but also defaulter. Some 391 employees are working in Royal Palm Golf & Country Club, which have been retained and their salaries (approximately Rs 8.3 million per month) are being paid well in time.
All utilities bills and other operational expenditures are being met from the earning of Royal Palm Golf & Country Club and there is as such no default on the part of payment to vendors of Royal Palm.
All the members have been assured by chief executive officer/Sr general manager through social media that their membership rights and facilities shall be protected strictly in accordance with the agreement and efforts shall be made to improve the same. The case was adjourned for four weeks.
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