LAHORE: More than Rs113.8 million tax exemptions were granted to 2,673 people, whose business was affected due to the construction of the Lahore Metro Train Project, while another 2,604 people got Rs112 million property tax waiver.

Project’s steering committee chairman Khawaja Ahmad Hassaan told a weekly review meeting participants on Wednesday that 69 people had been exempted from professional tax amounting to Rs930,000.

“The chief minster has ordered another survey to provide a relief package to small shopkeepers and kiosk owners who do not fall in the category of either property taxpayers or professional taxpayers, to compensate their losses because of the construction activity in the area,” he said.

The participants also learned that two-thirds of the civil work on the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train Project had been completed and efforts had been geared up for starting train’s operation on December 25 this year. Also, 66.5 per cent of the civil work had been completed. Progress on the package-I from Dera Gujjaran, GT Road, to Chauburji was 81.5 per cent, while on package-II from Chauburji to Ali Town was 49.5 per cent, Depot near Dera Gujran 72 per cent and on Stabling Yard near Ali Town it was 62.8 per cent.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2017