The Anti-Corruption Establishment Multan (ACE Multan) has initiated an inquiry against Ali Asghar Gurmani, CEO, and Zain Shah, Director of Gulberg Executive Housing Scheme, over allegations of selling bogus plot files. ACE Multan has summoned Ali Asghar Gurmani and Zain Shah, both of whom are associated with the allegedly unapproved housing scheme, under the signature of Assistant Director Investigation ACE Multan officer Jamshaid Akram. According to sources in the ACE Multan office, Director General Sohail Zafar Chatta had taken notice of the news about the alleged fraud in the press regarding the selling of bogus plot files in the name of Gulberg Executive Housing Scheme Multan and had ordered the Director ACE Multan Region-RDM Rashid Namat Khokhar to appoint an inquiry officer to investigate the complaints. Rashid Namat Khokhar appointed Jamshaid Akram AD ACE Multan to probe the alleged fraud.
The legal status of the Gulberg Executive Housing Scheme Multan is not clear. CEO Ali Asghar Gurmani and Zain Shah both claimed that the said housing scheme is approved by the District Council Multan, but they couldn’t provide an approval certificate when this correspondent contacted them and inquired about it.
“Gulberg Multan Executive Housing Scheme is still unapproved. Owners of the scheme had submitted the application to the District Council Multan, and the Planning & Infrastructure branch had sent the land documents to the ADCR office for a verification report. Still, we have not received any reply from the ADCR Multan office,” said Muhammad Hussain Bangash, Chief Officer District Council Multan, while replying to a question asked by Daily Minute Mirror Lahore.
“Why District Council Multan is not taking action against the management of Gulberg Executive Housing Scheme Multan that is selling the files of the plots of an unapproved housing scheme, which is an illegal act and a violation of the rules & regulations of the District Council Multan?” said Abdul Sattar Baloch, advocate, and a civil society activist who is working on the destruction of agricultural lands in the name of real estate business in Pakistan.
“Multan Master Plan 2022-2028 is not finalized, and which areas are in green and prohibited zones and which are for housing schemes are not mentioned. Multan Master Plan is in the process. Then how is the management of Gulberg Executives Multan selling the files of plots of the said housing scheme?” he added.
“The District Council of Multan should initiate legal action against the CEO, Director, and Project Director for advertising an unapproved housing scheme and submit an application to the concerned Police Station for the registration of an FIR over selling plot files before the approval of the scheme. Not registering an FIR against the management of the said housing scheme is serious negligence on the side of the Chief Officer district council Multan,” said Abdul Sattar, a civil society activist and researcher on real estate business and climate change in southern Punjab.
Regional Director of Multan, Rashid Namat Khokhar, did not reply to the question about the reason for not summoning the official of District Council Multan, who had not taken any legal action against the management of Gulberg Executive.
According to the official website of Gulberg Executive, “The owners have approved the land from MDA (Multan Development Authority). The development work is progressing quickly at Gulberg Executive. This housing society contains all the facilities required for a better lifestyle, such as educational institutes, hospitals, green parks, and many other facilities.”
However, according to Director Planning in MDA, Qaswar Abbas, the owner of Gulberg Multan Executive had initially submitted an application to MDA for approval of the project, but they had returned the application while advising him to contact the district Council Multan. Therefore, the information given on the official website is false: “The owners have approved the land from MDA (Multan Development Authority).”
According to the official website of Faisal Asghar Enterprise PVT.LTD, “Gulberg Executive Housing Scheme is located at the Southern Bypass near the Multan Medical & Dental College. This project is also nearly 3 kilometers from Ibn-e-Sina Hospital in Multan. It is also close to the top college, PIET (Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Technology), in Multan. The Piran Ghaib area is also located 3 kilometers from this housing society.”
According to the application submitted to the district Council Multan by Ali Asghar Gurmani, the CEO of the said housing scheme for getting the approval, 1500 acres of land have been bought. However, the Additional Commissioner for Revenue office did not verify the claims made by CEO Gulberg Executive Multan. Sources in concerned Patwar Circles and reliable sources in Planning & Infrastructure branch of the District Council Multan revealed that CEO Ali Asghar Gurmani had a Purchase agreement with owners of 40 acres of cultivating land near Piran Ghaib Area, and ownership of the land has not yet converted to Faisal Asghar enterprise company because full payment had not been paid to the owners of that agricultural land. According to reliable sources, 10 thousand files of the bogus plots have been sold out to the citizens against a total of Rs. 5 to 6 billion. The sold plots are just in papers, and still, no land is available against the mentioned plots in the site map available on the official website.
The owner of Gulberg Multan Executive recently succeeded in getting the PTI ticket for PP-284 Layyah-V, which generated high controversy in the ranks of workers of PTI from PP-284 Layyah. Some workers blamed Aun Abbas Pabi, President of PTI Southern Punjab chapter. In a regional daily, a report was published in which an allegation of taking a bribe of Rs. 50 Million from Ali Asghar Gurmani was imposed on Aun Abbas Pabi for rewarding the PTI Ticket to him. Syed Rafaqat Ali Shah of PTI had been elected from PP-284 Layyah V in the 2018 General Elections, and it was a surprising move when he withdrew from his native constituency and was awarded the PTI ticket for NA-283 Layyah.
