Gujranwala encroached school case: Punjab govt offers alternate plot in court

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the government of Punjab to complete school building within two years to handover the management, while hearing encroachment case of a girls school in Gujranwala, ARY News reported.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed heard the case.

The provincial government offered to provide alternate land for the encroached plot of the school.

Chief Secretary Punjab told the court that the alternat land could be provided to the school at two different places.

Justice Gulzar Ahmed advised petitioner Taleem-e-Niswan Trust to accept the government offer. The Justice said that “if the decision of the case goes against you, you will be deprived of this land too”.

The bench ordered the government to complete the school building within two years to handover the management and dismissed the case.

In an early hearing the court criticized the provincial government over failing to resolve the issue of encroachment of a school plot.

“A chief secretary could not resolve a minor problem, how is he running a province,” Justice Qazi Faez Essa asked.” Thirteen years were not enough for you to resolve the matter?”

The court on Thursday had given the provincial chief secretary one day to resolve the matter.

The bench told the provincial chief secretary to resolve the issue or face the consequences.

The government counsel told the bench that the government was ready to provide an alternate peace of land for the school.