ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to two top land developers and the Punjab government regarding sale and purchase of plots on the land allocated for the construction of Dadhocha dam.

A two-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, on Friday, heard a contempt of court petition against buying and selling of plots at the land allocated to Dadhocha Dam land.

The bench directed the Punjab advocate general to file a comprehensive report about the land allocated to dam and its construction.

The petitioner, Col Muhammad Tariq Kamal (retd) contended though the construction of the dam is going on, but land developers were still involved in the sale and purchase of plots on dam’s land. The chief justice inquired if the dam is being constructed then what else the court could do?

The petitioner replied that the dam is being constructed, but its land is also being sold out. The chief justice inquired if all this is going on then what the chief secretary Punjab is doing?

The petitioner claimed that he had written several letters to the chief secretary in this regard, but he took no action to stop this practice.

The chief justice then said that those who are constructing the dam should look into this matter. Col Kamal (retd) said housing societies are carving out plots on the land allocated to the reservoir of the dam and selling those plots of land to people.

Later, the bench adjourned the case for an indefinite period. In 2019, the Punjab government had told the Supreme Court that it would complete the construction of the dam by 2021.

The government has allocated Rs2.8 billion to purchase the land for the dam.

The construction of dam was proposed in 2001.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021