Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: As the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have miserably failed to resolve a land dispute worth over Rs two billion, both the organisations have agreed to send the matter to the Public Accounts Committee for its resolution.

According to official documents laid before a parliamentary committee, the PAC is likely to take up the issue in its forth coming meeting in which audit objection of the CAA will be discussed and the issue of disputed land has also been incorporated in its agenda, sources confirmed to Daily Times.

The dispute over high-value land, situated in the cantonment area, was erupted a decade ago when the PAF allegedly encroached upon the land. As per the Lahore Revenue Office record, land measuring more than 20 acres on Walton Road, Lahore was under the ownership of the CAA since 1947.

According to the document available with Daily Times, the PAF had earlier requested the CAA to hire this land to set up a radar system to monitor India’s activities along the border area. However, neither any radar system was set up nor any other security equipment was installed there.

In 2011, an audit officer in his report pointed out that the CAA’s land worth billion of rupees was allegedly encroached upon by the PAF and the CAA top officials kept mum over the issue.

After the passage of few years, a PAF officer with the connivance of corrupt CAA management decided to set up Falcon Housing Society without seeking a no objection certificate (NOC) from the respective government departments as it was deemed necessary before launching any housing project.

Earlier, the CAA had raised this issue with the Defence Ministry high-ups, but failed to get justice owing to legal complication involved in this quagmire.

It may be mentioned that the Falcon Housing Society is among the posh housing projects of Lahore where elite class of the country has constructed their big houses.

The PAC is likely to summon the administration of the Falcon Housing Society and other senior officials of the Defence Ministry to seek their views on the dispute, which is lingering upon for the last many years.

The committee is also going to take up a similar land dispute case between the Pakistan Navy and the Worker Welfare Board.

According to the official documents, the PN allegedly encroached upon 2,231 kanal land situated in commercial areas of Karachi and had developed a housing project without the consent of the department.