Govt ordered to restore Punjab University's ground

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday directed the Punjab government to restore to its original position a ground of the Punjab University which it had allotted to a private contractor for the construction of Orange Line Metro Train project.

A bench of the high court, while taking strong exception to the previous provincial government’s use of the university’s land for the purpose, directed that compensation be paid to the educational institution for using its land.

It ordered seizure of the machinery of the firm and freezing of its accounts in case of nonpayment of the compensation.

The court said it would soon decide whether or not the matter is referred to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for a probe.

Former vice chancellor of the university Mujahid Kamran and former director general of Land and Development Authority (LDA) Ahmed Cheema flagrantly violated the law, it observed.

The petitioner’s lawyer told the judges that Mr Kamran allotted the land to the provincial government without any prior approval from the syndicate.