CHINIOT: The Auqaf department has got 203 kanals land at Chak 128-JB seven years after its allotment by the revenue department and leased it out to a tenant for Rs518,522 per year.

It got the land in exchange of its 200 kanals in Chiniot city in 2013.

When Chiniot was upgraded to the district, Hamza Shehbaz, the son of then Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the district on July 1, 2009, and announced a 200-bed district headquarters (DHQ) hospital here.

A piece of 200 kanal land near the city, owned by the Auqaf department, was transferred to the health department by the Punjab government for construction of the hospital.

The Auqaf department was given 203 kanal at Chak 129-JB by the revenue department in exchange of the hospital land. But the land was occupied by local landlords who refused to vacate it. When the administration tried to get it vacated in 2013, the occupiers got a stay from the Board of Revenue (BoR) and continued occupying it.

The Auqaf department approached the Punjab government to get occupation of the land and sought cancelation of the land exchange deed.

At this, the district administration approached member BoR Mansoor Qadir and apprised him of the situation, stating that the DHQ hospital could not be established if the stay continued and land of health department.

Mr Qadir, after hearing the arguments of the district administration, got the stay order vacated last Friday.

On receiving the orders, the district administration and revenue department backed by police evicted the land and gave its possession to Auqaf department.

Chiniot Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Riaz said they had completed the land exchange deal of 2013 and now they would approach Punjab government for construction of proposed hospital.

Manager Auqaf Azhar Farid said they had got land vacated and leased it out to a tenant for Rs518,522 per year.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2020