Lahore | ReNews Pakistan
A Punjab Assembly special committee has questioned how Lahore Gymkhana Club has continued to pay just Rs5,000 in annual rent for more than 100 acres of prime government land, seeking complete records of the lease, its approval and construction permissions.
The committee, chaired by MPA Samiullah Khan, examined the arrangement during a meeting on Wednesday, noting that the land’s estimated value ranged from Rs76 billion to Rs218 billion.
Lahore Gymkhana Chairman Salman Siddique acknowledged that the existing rent was inadequate, saying the club should be paying at least Rs10 million annually. He expressed willingness to provide records and cooperate with the inquiry.
The Board of Revenue’s Member Colonies told the committee that former chief minister Sardar Arif Nakai had verbally instructed officials to fix the annual rent at Rs5,000 when the lease was extended. The official acknowledged that proper valuation procedures and applicable legal principles had not been followed.
Members questioned how a verbal instruction could justify such a substantial concession and sought the complete record of the 1996 lease deed and its approval.
The committee stressed that the land belongs to the people of Punjab and that the club’s internal governance arrangements do not remove the government’s responsibility to oversee the use of state property.
Members also requested verification of sanctioned building plans, government permissions and compliance with lease conditions. They raised questions about responsibility for structural safety where the necessary approvals could not be established.
Options discussed to increase public benefit included opening the club’s cricket ground to the public and relocating the club to a site near the Ring Road. Members also questioned the use of public funds for an exclusive recreational institution occupying leased government land. No final decision on these proposals was announced.
The committee directed the relevant departments to submit detailed reports. A fact-finding committee headed by the Advocate General Punjab was tasked with framing questions, obtaining and verifying records, and submitting its findings within ten days.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the chair directed that legal questions arising from the inquiry be referred to the Law Reforms Committee under the Punjab Assembly speaker for joint deliberation.
