SC serves notices to respondents in petrol pumps lease case

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court (SC) Friday sought reply from Punjab government and other respondents in a review petition pertaining to lease of petrol pump sites in Lahore.
The bench noted that the provincial government had issued advertisement to conduct auction of the land on April 12.
However, the court would hear all respondents before the auction process.
A two member bench of top court heard the case against the auction of petrol pump sites in provincial capital, Lahore.
During hearing, Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan observed that ‘the old lease holder could give extra bid during auction to get leases again.
The court couldn’t ask the government to sell out its land, he said.
Justice Ahsan observed that the court had ordered in the main case to settle the rent of the land in accordance of the market value.
The petitioner’s counsel Aitzaz Ahsan pleaded that the government had given ownership lease rights to Packages Petrol Pump at a government land.
However, now the provincial government was giving land lease for just a few years to the petrol pumps.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa remarked that’ first the court would hear all respondents including the provincial government.
The court served notices to Punjab government, Member Colony Punjab, Deputy Commissioner Lahore, Municipal Corporation, Lahore Development Authority and Punjab Board of Revenue to answer in the matter.