LAHORE - The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Punjab has arrested Abdul Ghafoor Wattoo over his alleged involvement in Rs1.5 billion real estate scam.
The director of Formanites Housing Scheme is real brother of Zahoor Wattoo, a co-accused in the scam who is already in NAB custody, according to the bureau’s spokesman.
The management of the housing society are accused of selling hundreds of plots on land that is not part of the 1,200 kanals approved by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) for the society.
More than 1,100 people affected by the scam filed complaints with NAB Lahore wherein they alleged that the accused were involved in cheating public at large.
According to NAB investigation, the number of plots sold out to the general public was far greater than those existed in the approved plan. Moreover, there were frequent instances of duplication and cancellation of plots without any justification and plausible reason.
Further, land reserved for amenities was illegally transformed into residential and commercial plots and sold out to the general public. Public was forced to pay excessive development charges.
In 2003-2004 the accused persons illegally started booking and selling plots in Phase-II of the subject housing scheme for which no land was specified in the first place and continued the practice recklessly over a long period, the NAB spokesman told The Nation.
NAB had initiated investigations against the accused after receiving over 1100 complaints alleging fraud. “NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry asked NAB Punjab for a comprehensive report on fraud in the Formanites Housing Society,” a NAB official told The Nation on Wednesday.
The chairman also asked the regional NAB director general to expedite the recovery process in the case so that affected parties could be compensated.
The Formanites Housing Society was inaugurated by former provincial minister for Housing and Physical Planning Syed Raza Ali Gillani in 2003 and LDA authorised its management to sell 1119.30 kanals. However, it illegally sold over 3900 kanals.
The accused person shall be produced before Accountability Court tomorrow for obtaining physical remand.
The management of Formanites Housing Society, however, insists that the scheme was launched to benefit low-income households by providing them housing on easy installments. They claim the society spans 2,277 kanals; 60 per cent of which is for residential plots, while the rest has been earmarked for roads, parks, commercial centres, educational institutions and other facilities.