Punjab Province

Lahore | ReNews Pakistan
The Lahore High Court has issued an important ruling on tenancy disputes, holding that a court must provide the opposing party at least 10 days under the law before beginning ex parte proceedings.
Justice Muzammil Akhtar Shabbir issued a 14 page detailed judgment and set aside the decisions of the rent tribunal and the appellate court against the petitioner.
The court observed that it was inappropriate to issue an ex parte ruling against a tenant or any other party without giving them a reasonable opportunity to present their defence.
The judgment stated that a delay in justice amounts to a denial of justice, but unnecessary haste in delivering justice can also undermine the judicial process.
The Lahore High Court made it clear that courts dealing with tenancy disputes must fully observe the legal time period and the principles of a fair hearing.
The court also declared the ruling a judicial precedent for future rent cases and ordered that the dispute should be treated as pending before the trial court.
The trial court was directed to provide both parties a full opportunity to present their cases and decide the matter on merit within four months.
The judgment is significant for both landlords and tenants, as courts will be required to fulfil the legal procedure before issuing an immediate ex parte ruling merely because one party is absent.

Lahore : ReNews Pakistan
Lahore Development Authority Director General Tahir Farooq visited various blocks of LDA Avenue One, the Citizen Facilitation Centre, an under construction park and Gosha e Mazdoor on Raiwind Road. During the visit, he reviewed ongoing development projects, public facilities and property related services and issued instructions to the relevant officials.
The LDA director general made a surprise inspection of the Avenue One Citizen Facilitation Centre and interacted directly with visitors to inquire about the services being provided and the problems they were facing.
He said the growing number of visitors at the centre and the increase in property transfer cases in LDA City reflected rising public confidence in the project.
Tahir Farooq stressed the timely processing of property transfers, building period applications and other public requests. He directed officials to ensure that property transfers in LDA City are completed within 24 hours.
He also instructed the director of Avenue One to provide all possible facilities to citizens and improve the overall service delivery system.
During the visit, the LDA director general also inspected an under construction park in H Block of Avenue One, where officials briefed him on the progress of the project.
According to the briefing, a modern park is being developed over 47 kanals under a sustainable development model. Construction work on a total of eight new parks in LDA Avenue One is also progressing rapidly.
Later, Tahir Farooq visited Gosha e Mazdoor on Raiwind Road and reviewed the facilities available there. He directed the relevant authorities to further improve the services being provided to workers.

Lahore | ReNews Pakistan
The issuance of property tax challans has resumed across Punjab after being temporarily suspended at the beginning of the new fiscal year. The process of issuing No Objection Certificates (NOCs) in Lahore and other parts of the province has also restarted following the updating of DC rates.
According to excise officials, property tax challans could not be issued at the start of the new fiscal year because the DC rates had not been updated. The delay also affected the issuance of NOCs. With the required procedures now completed, the distribution of tax challans has resumed.
Officials said more than 100,000 property tax challans were issued across Punjab in a single day. The Director General of Excise has directed the department to ensure that at least 70 percent of the challans are delivered to citizens by August 15 to speed up the tax collection process.
According to the Excise Department, citizens are entitled to a 5 percent discount for paying their property tax within the two-month concession period. However, administrative delays at the beginning of the fiscal year resulted in the loss of nearly one month, increasing pressure on the department to achieve its annual revenue target of Rs 42 billion.