Lahore: The Auqaf and Religious Affairs Department of Punjab is in the process of identifying its spare properties — to be used for the development of several school and hospital facilities, a news source reported. This measure comes as a follow-up on Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s commitment towards utilizing ‘shrine land’ for the construction of these facilities.
According to statistics shared by the department, of the 77,000 acres of property it owns, only 24,000 acres of land is free of encroachments. The remaining land is in illegal possession of the land mafia. It was also revealed that the Auqaf and Religious Affairs Department has an annual income of over PKR 300 million.
As per the law, if the Government of Pakistan acquires the department’s land for the construction of such facilities, it either has to provide alternate land to the department as a form of compensation, or buy the land at a fair market value.
Sources within the Auqaf Department have revealed that there have been several instances in the past when the provincial and federal governments acquired its land for setting up shelter homes and other infrastructural development projects. However, the department is yet to receive the payment it is owed.
