SIALKOT-Over 3,000 male and female applicants staged a protest against the cancellation of draw for the plots of a government housing scheme by the Pasrur tehsil administration.
The applicants chanted slogans against the government and demanded the early draw of the applications for the plots in 3 Marla Housing Scheme in Pasrur to be established for local-low-income people.
The protesting people said that they had reached Pasrur for the draw after travelling long in such hot and humid weather, but the Pasrur administration has cancelled the draw suddenly without giving any new date.
They said, “When we asked the local officials about the reason of this sudden cancellation and about the new date for draw, the officials misbehaved with us and adopted disgusting and sluggish aptitude with us.”
When contacted, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Umer Sher Chatta said that the reason of cancellation of this draw was that the venue (local college’s hall) was an examination centre and engaged due to the ongoing intermediate exams. He said that the new date for transparent draw of the plots would be announced shortly.
In Pasrur, the Punjab government’s project of establishing 3 Marla housing scheme has been lying in doldrums for the last four consecutive years in Pasrur.
Punjab government had started this housing scheme in Pasrur for providing as many as 200 plots to establish houses to the local low-income earning people in 2012. On November 30, 2012, the then Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif had inaugurated this project. It was to be completed in a stipulated period of next two years after the day of the commencement of this project.
Inordinate delay in its completion had been irking the local low income earning people who had applied for getting 3 Marla plots for establishing their houses under this scheme there. The local applicants have expressed grave concern over this miserable situation. They said that four years have passed but there was no major development in the progress of this housing scheme.
They said that there was no balloting/draw of the plots has yet been made by the authorities concerned despite the passage of four consecutive years , amazingly. They added that this housing scheme has only a boundary wall on the ground and nothing more.
They said that they had deposited their applications with a draft of Rs.25000 with each application for getting the 3 Marla plots through the draws to establish their houses there four years ago, but there was no more progress, in this regard.
They said that the project of establishing this housing scheme had been lying in doldrums for the last four consecutive years.
The affected people including Arif Mehmood Sheikh, Abid Hussain, Muhammad Akram, Muhammad Iqbal, Nasir Mehmood, widow Sakeena Bibi, Sughran Bibi, Ghulam Hussain, Abdul Majeed, Allah Rakha , Ghulam Rasul, Sabir Hussain, have expressed grave concern over this critical situation.
They have urged the Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif to take serious notice of this situation, besides, ensuring the early removal of hurdles in the way of completion of this project, in the larger public interest as well...#