Rawalpindi Cantonment Board building and plaques showing the names of the founders. PHOTOS: AGHA MEHROZE/EXPRESS
RAWALPINDI:
The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB), which has been carrying out an extensive campaign to increase revenue and recover dues, has suffered a loss of Rs 41.1 million in marketing fees.
The owners of a property allegedly used for illegal commercial purposes deposited only Rs 2,790,595 instead of the required Rs 43,891,512 as marketing fee and obtained a stay order from a court through other co-owners.
According to sources, the property located on Peshawar Road covers 50.64 marlas of land and houses a large private educational institution. The cantonment board issued notice to the property owner regarding illegal commercial use and directed him to deposit Rs 43,891,512 as marketing fee.
However, instead of completing the marketing of the entire property, some cantonment board officials allegedly collected only Rs 2,790,594 as marketing fee for 24 marlas of land.
This move allowed the owners to approach the court regarding the remaining marketing fee of approximately Rs 41.1 million. They subsequently obtained a stay order against recovery of the remaining amount, depriving the cantonment board of immediately receiving a substantial sum.
Sources say the matter appears to have been resolved through collusion as marketing of a property with a single CB number is normally done only once for the entire land area and built structure, irrespective of the number of owners.
In this case, although the full marketing fee was calculated and a corresponding notice was issued, only the amount of 24 marla was collected. The remaining portion of the 50.40 marla property was not put on the market, allowing the owners to seek redress in court.
When contacted, a senior cantonment board official confirmed that the entire marketing fee could not be recovered. He added that the matter regarding the remaining recoverable fee is now pending before the court, and further recovery will depend on the court’s decision.
