MURREE: The forest department retrieved about 25 kanals in Murree.

About 22 forest department officials along with the local police removed encroachments erected by a hotel on forest land in Bhurban and demarcated it, Subdivisional Forest Officer Raza Anwar Sheikh said.

He said the campaign had been launched under the directions of the Supreme Court. About 10 kanals were also retrieved from 15 encroachers in the New Murree Bazaar, he added.

The hotel was served with a notice to vacate the land but its administration delayed the process as it wanted to get the encroached land leased from the government.

It may be mentioned that the hotel was given 120 kanals on a 50-year lease by the Punjab government at the rate of Rs80 per kanal about 25 years ago.

SDFO Sheikh said all-out effort would be made to retrieve the state land from encroachers. Technicalities are being sorted out and after proper preparations a stricter campaign will be launched, he added.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2017