GUJRAT: The district administration has recovered Rs6.2 million from a cellular company which had been running two signal towers installed on state land without paying the lease amount for around a decade in Rakh Pabbi sarkar forest area of Sara-i-Alamgir tehsil.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (revenue) (ADCR) Khizar Hayat Bhatti told Dawn that an agreement between the district administration and the cellular company had been reached for the installation of the towers and payment of lease amount at least 15 years ago.

However, the company had not been paying any lease amount, with an annual increase of 10 percent, as per the initial agreement.

After the matter was brought into the notice of the Deputy Commissioner Safdar Virk, the land revenue department initiated a legal action against the company, and notices were served on it by the Sara-i-Alamgir assistant commissioner (AC) a couple of months ago, the ADCR says.

He adds that despite the notices, the company did not pay the outstanding amount totaling up to around Rs10 million. However, when the authorities sealed the towers and also got severed the electricity supply to these installations, the company deposited a sum of Rs6.2m, whereas the remaining sum of Rs3.5m was still pending.

The ADCR says the company has made a commitment to pay the remaining amount by mid November, this year.

Similarly, he says the revenue department has also recovered around Rs2 million from the owner of a petrol pump in Sara-i-Alamgir tehsil for using the state land as right of way.

He says the recovered amounts has been deposited in the accounts of the departments concerned.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2023