ISLAMABAD HIGH COURT, ISLAMABAD

Vol. XLII 2014

PAKISTAN LAW JOURNAL

(P.L.J.)

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Punjab Statutes

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ACT, XXIII OF 2013

PUNJAB LOCAL GOVERNMENT (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2013

An Act to amend the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013

[Gazette of Punjab, Extraordinary, 13^th December, 2013]

No. PAP-Legis-2(18)/2013/966.--The Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2013, having been passed by the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab on 9th December 2013, and assented to by the Acting Governor of the Punjab on 13th December 2013, is hereby published as an Act of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab.

Whereas it is expedient to amend the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 (XVIII of 2013) for purposes hereinafter appearing;

It is enacted as follows:--

1. Short title and commencement.--(1) This Act may be cited as the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act, 2013.

(2) It shall come into force at once.

2. Amendment in Section 2 of Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 (XVIII of 2013), hereinafter referred to as the said Act, in Section 2, alfer clause (III), the following new clause (III-a) shall be inserted:--

"(III-a) "ward" means a ward of a Union Council or, as the case may be, that of a Municipal Committee;"

3. Amendments in Section 8 of Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, in Section 8, the following amendments shall be made:--

(a) in sub-section (2), in clause (b), the comma and the words ", a' Municipal Committee" shall be omitted.

(b) after sub-section (2), the following new sub-sections (3) and (4) shall be inserted:--

"(3) The Government shall, in the prescribed manner, delimit a Union Council into six wards for the election of members on general seats and into two wards, consisting of three adjoining wards of the Union Council, for the election of the two seats reserved for women.

(4) A ward shall, as far as possible, consist of a part of a village, one or more adjoining villages and, in case of an urban area, a part of a census block, census block or adjoining census blocks and, as far as possible, the population of wards shall be uniform."

4. Insertion of Section 10-A in Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, after Section 10, the following new Section 10-A shall be inserted:--

"10-A. Finality of delimitation.--A Court, officer or authority shall not review or correct any delimitation of a Union Council or ward after the notification of the election schedule."

5. Amendments in Section 12 of Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, in Section 12--

(a) in sub-section (1), the brackets and figure “(1)" shall be omitted; and

(b) sub-section (2) shall be omitted.

6. Substitution of Section 13 of Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, for Section 13, the following shall be substituted:--

"13. Union Council.--(1) A Union Council shall consist of directly elected Chairman and Vice-Chairman, as joint candidates, six general members, one from each ward of the Union Council, and the following directly elected members on the reserved seats:--

(a) two women members;

(b) one peasant member in a rural Union Council or one worker member in an urban Union Council;

(d) one non-Muslim member.

(2) For purposes of the election of the Chairman and Vice Chairman and the members mentioned in clauses (b), (c) and (d) of sub-section (1), the entire Union Council shall be one ward and for election of the women members mentioned in clause (a) of that sub-section, a Union Council shall be two wards consisting of three adjoining wards of a Union Council."

7. Amendments in Section 14 of Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, in Section 14, in sub-section (2)--

(a) the comma and words ",Vice Chairmen and members" shall be omitted; and

(b) for clause (e), the following shall be substituted:--

"(e) such non-Muslim members, not exceeding five, as the Government may notify for each District Council."

8. Amendments in Section 15 of Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, in Section 15--

(a) in sub-section (1), the comma and words ",Vice Chairmen and members" shall be omitted;

(b) in sub-section (2)--

(i) the comma and words “Vice Chairmen and members" shall be omitted; and

(ii) for clause (e), the following shall be substituted:--

"(e) such non-Muslim members, not exceeding five, as the Government may notify for each Municipal Corporation"; and

"(d) such non-Muslim members, not exceeding three, as the Government may notify for each Municipal Committee."

9. Substitution of Section 18 of Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, for Section 18, the following shall be substituted:--

"18. Franchise.--Save as otherwise provided, election of members of all local governments shall be held through secret ballot on the basis of adult franchise in such manner as may be prescribed."

10. Amendment in Section 19 of Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, in Section 19, for sub-section (1), the following shall be substituted;--

"(1) The Election Commission shall conduct the local government elections and, for the purpose, shall, by notification in the official Gazette, declare the election schedule for election under this Act."

11. Amendment in Section 21 of Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, in Section 21, in sub-section (2), after the word "prepared", the words "or adapted or adopted" shall be inserted.

12. Substitution of Section 22 in Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, for Section 22, the following shall be substituted:--

"22. Appointment of District Returning Officer, Returning Officer etc.--(1) The Election Commission shall appoint from amongst the officers of the Election Commission, the Government, a body or entity controlled by the Government, District Returning Officers, Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers for purposes of election under this Act.

(2) An Assistant Returning Officer shall assist the Returning Officer in the performance of his functions under this Act and may, subject to such conditions as may be imposed by the Election Commission, exercise the powers and perform the functions of the Returning Officer, under the control of the District Returning Officer.

(3) The District Returning Officer shall do all such acts as may be necessary for effectively conducting an election in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules."

13. Substitution of Section 23 in Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, for Section 23, the following shall be substituted:--

"23. Polling stations.--(1) The Returning Officer shall, before such time as the Election Commission may fix, submit to the District Returning Officer a list of polling stations he proposes to provide for a Union Council or a ward for purposes of election.

(2) Subject to the direction of the Election Commission, the District Returning Officer may make such afterations in the list of polling stations submitted under sub-section (1) as he deems necessary and shall, within fifteen days before the polling day, publish in the official Gazette the final list of polling stations specifying the electoral area, the voters who are entitled to vote at each polling station.

(3) The Returning Officer shall, for a Union Council and a ward, establish a polling station or polling stations according to the final list published under sub-section (2).

(4) A polling station shall not be located in any premises belonging to or under the control of any candidate."

14. Substitution of Section 24 in Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, for Section 24, the following shall be substituted:--

"24. Presiding Officers and Polling Officers.--(1) A Returning Officer shall appoint for each polling station a Presiding Officer and such number of Assistant Presiding Officers and Polling Officers from amongst the officers of the Government, local governments and corporations established or controlled by such governments to assist the Presiding Officer as the Returning Officer may consider necessary.

(2) A person who is or has, at any time, been in the employment of any candidate shall not be appointed as a Presiding Officer, Assistant Presiding Officer or Polling Officer.

(3) A list of such Presiding Officers, Assistant Presiding Officers and Polling Officers shall be submitted to the District Returning Officer within fifteen days before the polling day for its approval and no change in the personnel shall be made except with the approval of the Election Commission.

(4) A Presiding Officer shall conduct the poll in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules, and shall be responsible for maintaining order at the polling station and shall report to the Returning Officer any fact or incident which may, in his opinion, affect the fairness of the poll.

(5) The Presiding Officer may, during the course of poll, entrust such of his functions as may be specified by him to any Assistant Presiding Officer and it shall be the duty of such Assistant Presiding Officer to perform the functions so entrusted.

(6) The Returning Officer shall authorize one of the Assistant Presiding Officers to act in place of the Presiding Officer if the Presiding Officer is, at any time, during the poll, by reason of illness or any other cause, not present at the polling station or is unable to perform his functions; and any absence of the Presiding Officer and the reasons for the absence .shall, as soon as possible after the close of poll, be reported to the Returning Officer.

(7) The Returning Officer may, at any time during the poll, for reasons to be recorded in writing, suspend any Presiding Officer, Assistant Presiding Officer or Polling Officer and make such arrangements as he may consider necessary for the performance of the functions of the officer so suspended."

15. Amendments in Section 27 of Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, in Section 27--

(a) in sub-section (1), in clause (b), for the word "or", the word "and" shall be substituted;

(b) in sub-section (1), for clause (c), the following shall be substituted:--

"(c) is enrolled as a voter in the electoral rolls of the ward or the local government from which he is contesting the election";

(i) in clause (i), after semi-colon, the word "and" shall be inserted;

(ii) in clause (j), for semi-colon and the word "and", a full-stop shall be substituted; and

(iii) clause (k) shall be omitted; and

(d) after sub-section (3), the following sub-section (4) shall be inserted;--

“(4) A candidate who claims to be a Muslim shall submit to the Returning Officer the declaration given in Ninth Schedule along with the nomination papers."

16. Amendments in Section 32 of Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, in Section 32--

(a) for sub-section (4), the following shall be substituted;--

"(4) If a member of a Union Council is elected as Vice Chairman of the Union Council under sub-section (3) or the office of the directly elected member of the Union Council, for any reason, falls vacant during the term of office of the Union Council, the new member shall be elected in the prescribed manner within one year from the date such vacancy is notified and he shall, subject to this Act, hold office for the remaining term of the Union Council."; and

(b) for sub-section (6), the following shall be substituted:--

"(6) If the vacancy in the office of a directly elected member of a Union Council or a Municipal Committee occurs within one year of the expiry of the term of the Union Council or, as the case may be, the Municipal Committee, the vacancy shall not be filled."

17. Amendments in Section 144 of Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, in Section 144, after sub-section (3), the following sub-section (4) shall be inserted:--

"(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the Government may, in an emergency and for reasons to be recorded, dispense with the requirement of previous publication required under sub-section (1)."

18. Amendments in First Schedule of Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, in the First Schedule:--

(i) for Part-I, the following shall be substituted;--

"PART-I

Union Council	Mode of Election	Membership
	Direct	Chairman and Vice Chairman, as joint candidates.
	Direct	Six general members.
	Direct	Two women members.
	Direct	One peasant or worker member.
	Direct	One Youth member
	Direct	One non-Muslim member.”

(ii) in Part-II, in the column titled "Membership", for the last entry, the following shall be substituted:--

"Such number of non-Muslim members, not exceeding five, as the Government may, by notification, determine on the basis of the number of Union Councils in a District Council.";

(iii) in Part-III, in the column titled "Membership", for the last entry, the following shall be substituted:--

"Such number of non-Muslim members, not exceeding three, as the Government may, by notification, determine on the basis of the number of wards in a Municipal Committee."; and

(iv) in Part-IV, in column titled "Membership", for the last entry, the following shall be substituted:--

"Such number of non-Muslim members, not exceeding five, as the Government may, by notification, determine on the basis of the number of Union Councils in a Municipal Corporation".

19. Insertion of Ninth Schedule in Act, XVIII of 2013.--In the said Act, after Eighth Schedule, the following Ninth Schedule shall be inserted;--

NINTH SCHEDULE

Declaration

I, ________________s/o, w/o, d/o _____________ solemnly swear that I believe in the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the last of the prophets, and that I am not the follower of any one who claims to be a Prophet in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever after Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), and that I do neither recognize such a claimant to be Prophet or religious reformer nor do I belong to the Qadiani group or the Lahori group or call myself an Ahmadi.

Date: Signature of the candidate."

20. Repeal.--The following Ordinances are hereby repealed:--

(a) the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 (VI of 2013);

(b) the Punjab Local Government (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 (VII of 2013);

(d) the Punjab Local Government (Fourth Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 (IX of 2013).

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ACT, XXIV OF 2013

PROVINCIAL EMPLOYEES' SOCIAL SECURITY (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2013

An Act further to amend the Provincial Employees' Social Security Ordinance, 1965

[Gazette of Punjab, Extraordinary, 13^th December, 2013]

No. PAP-Legis-2(17)/2013/967.--The Provincial Employees' Social Security (Amendment) Bill 2013, having been passed by the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab on 9th December 2013, and assented to by the Acting Governor of the Punjab on 13th December 2013, is hereby published as an Act of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab.

Whereas it is expedient further to amend the Provincial Employees' Social Security Ordinance, 1965 (X of 1965) for purposes hereinafter appearing;

It is enacted as follows:--

1. Short title and commencement.--(1) This Act may be cited as the Provincial Employees' Social Security (Amendment) Act, 2013.

(2) It shall come into force at once.

2. Amendment in Section 1 of Ordinance, X of 1965.--(1) In the Provincial Employees' Social Security Ordinance, 1965 (X of 1965), hereinafter referred to as the said Ordinance, in Section 1, in sub-section (2), for the word "Pakistan", the words "the Punjab" shall be substituted.

3. Amendment in Section 2 of Ordinance, X of 1965.--In the said Ordinance, in Section 2--

(a) in clause (8), for sub-clause (f), the following shall be substituted:--

"(f) any person employed on wages exceeding the wages determined by the Government under Section 71;";

(b) for clause (14),the following shall be substituted:

"(14) "Government" means Government of the Punjab;"; and

(c) in clause (25a), for the words "three hundred and sixty rupees", the words "six percent of the wage limits determined by the Government under Section 71" shall be substituted.

4. Amendment in Section 15 of Ordinance, X of 1965.--In the said Ordinance, in Section 15, for the word "Government", the words "the Institution" shall be substituted.

5. Amendment in Section 20 of Ordinance, X of 1965.--In the said Ordinance, in Section 20, in sub-section (1)--

(a) for the words "at such rate not more than six percent", the words "at the rate of six percent" shall be substituted; and

(b) in the proviso, for the words "four hundred rupees per day or ten thousands rupees per month", the expression "the wages determined by the Government under Section 71" shall be substituted.

6. Amendment in Section 20-A of Ordinance, X of 1965.--In the said Ordinance, in Section 20-A--

(a) in sub-section (1), for the words "three hundred and sixty rupees", the words "six percent of the wage limits determined by the Government under Section 71" shall be substituted; and

(b) in sub-section (3), for the word "twenty", the word "forty" shall be substituted.

7. Amendment in Section 37 of Ordinance, X of 1965.--In the said Ordinance, in Section 37--

(i) the existing marginal heading shall be substituted by "Funeral grant"; and

(ii) for sub-section (1), the following shall be substituted:--

"(1) On the death of a secured person receiving or entitled to receive injury or sickness benefit, or medical care at the time of his death, the surviving widow, widows or needy widower, or if there is no surviving widow, widows or needy widower, the person who provided for the funeral, shall, subject to regulations, be entitled to such funeral grant as may be provided in the regulations."

8. Amendment in Section 42 of Ordinance, X of 1965.--In the said Ordinance, in Section 42, after sub-section (2-A), the following sub-section (2-B) shall be inserted:--

"(2-B) Where only father or mother is entitled to the survivor's pension and the recipient dies leaving behind the other parent, such surviving parent shall be entitled to the survivor's pension equal to the amount being received by the other parent at the time of the death of that parent subject to the condition that the surviving parent is the real father or mother of the deceased secured worker."

9. Addition of Section 47-A in Ordinance, X of 1965.--In the said Ordinance, after Section 47, the following Section 47-A shall be inserted:

"47-A. Establishment of medical and other institutions.--The Institution may, through the public-private partnership mode, establish medical, dental, nursing, allied health or training institutions and, for the purpose, incur expenditure from the Fund."

10. Amendment in Section 54-A of Ordinance, X of 1965.--In the said Ordinance, in Section 54-A, for the words "two hundred rupees per day or five thousand rupees per month", the words "the wages determined by the Government under Section 71 of the Ordinance" shall be substituted.

11. Amendment in Section 62 of Ordinance, X of 1965.--In the said Ordinance, in Section 62, in sub-section (5), for the word "fifty", the words "five thousand" shall be substituted.

12. Amendment in Section 66 of Ordinance, X of 1965.--In the said Ordinance, in Section 66, for the words "not exceeding one thousand rupees", the words "up to ten thousand rupees but not less than two thousand rupees" shall be substituted.

13. Amendment in Section 70 of Ordinance, X of 1965.--In the said Ordinance, in Section 70, in sub-section (2), for the words "one hundred and twenty rupees per day or three thousand rupees per month", the words "the wages determined by the Government under Section 71 of the Ordinance” shall be substituted.

14. Amendment in Section 71 of Ordinance, X of 1965.--In the said Ordinance, in Section 71, the words, brackets and figures "specified in clause (f) of sub-section (8) of Section 2", wherever occur, shall be omitted.

15. Savings.--Notwithstanding anything contained in the Provincial Employees' Social Security Ordinance, 1965 (X of 1965), any contribution received or benefits released or purported to have been received or released under the said Ordinance immediately before the commencement of this Act shall be deemed to have been validly received or released under the Act.

16. Repeal.--The Provincial Employees Social Security (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 (V of 2013) is hereby repealed.

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ACT, XXV OF 2013

PUNJAB TRANSPARENCY AND RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2013

An Act to provide for transparency and freedom of information in the Punjab

[Gazette of Punjab, Extraordinary, 16^th December, 2013]

No. PAP-Legis-2(16)/2013/969.--The Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Bill 2013, having been passed by the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab on 12th December 2013, and assented to by the Governor of the Punjab on 14th December 2013, is hereby published as an Act of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab.

Preamble.--Whereas it is expedient to provide for transparency and freedom of information to ensure that citizens have improved access to public information; to make the Government more accountable to citizens; to enforce the fundamental right of access to information in all matters of public importance; and, to provide for ancillary matters;

It is enacted as follows:--

1. Short title, extent and commencement.--(1) This Act may be cited as the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2013.

(2) It extends to the whole of the Punjab.

(3) It shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions.--In this Act--

(a) "applicant" means a citizen of Pakistan or a legal person registered or incorporated in Pakistan, seeking information under this Act and includes a person authorized on behalf of the legal person;

(b) "Commission" means Punjab Information Commission established under this Act;

(d) "complaint" means a complaint made, in writing, to the Commission by an applicant on one or more of the following grounds:--

(i) wrongful denial of access to information;

(ii) non provision of information within the stipulated time;

(iii) refusal to receive and process the request from an applicant;

(iv) furnishing false, misleading or incomplete information;

(v) charging fee or cost for provision of information in excess of the requisite fee;

(vi) deliberate destruction of information to avoid its disclosure;

(vii) failure of a public body to implement the provisions regarding proactive disclosure; or

(viii) violation of any other provision of the Act by a public body;

(e) "Government" means Government of the Punjab;

(f) "information" means any information held by a public body and includes any memo, book, design, map, contract, representation, pamphlet, brochure, order, notification, document, plans, letter, report, accounts statement, project proposal, photograph, audio, video, drawing, film, any instrument prepared through electronic process, machine-readable documents and any other documentary material regardless of its physical form or characteristics;

(g) "prescribed" means prescribed by the rules or regulations made under the Act;

(h) "public body" means--

(i) a department, attached department, autonomous or semiautonomous body of the Government, a company of the Government or a special institution;

(ii) a local government constituted under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 (XVIII of 2013) or any other law for the time being in force;

(iii) Secretariat of Governor of the Punjab;

(iv) any Court, tribunal, office, Board, Commission, Council, or other body substantially financed by the Government;

(v) Provincial Assembly of the Punjab;

(vi) statutory body established under a provincial law; and

(vii) a non-government organization substantially financed by the Government or a local government;

(i) "public information officer" means a public information officer designated under Section 7 of the Act; and

(j) "right to information" means the right to obtain information accessible under the Act and includes the right to—

(i) inspect any work or document;

(ii) take notes, extracts or certified copy of a document;

(iii) take certified sample of any material; and

(iv) obtain copy of information in electronic form.

3. Access to information.--Subject to the provisions of this Act, an applicant may, in the prescribed manner, exercise the right to information.

4. Proactive disclosure.--Subject to the provisions of this Act, a public body shall proactively disclose--

(a) particulars of the public body, its functions and duties;

(b) powers and functions of its officers and employees;

(d) Acts, Ordinances, rules, regulations, notifications, circulars and other legal instruments being enforced, issued or used by the public body in the discharge of its functions;

(e) a statement of categories of information being held by the public body;

(f) a description of its decision-making processes and any opportunities for the public to provide input into or be consulted about decisions;

(g) a directory of its officers and employees with their respective remuneration, perks and privileges;

(h) budget of the public body including details of all proposed and actual expenditures;

(i) amount of subsidy and details of beneficiaries if the public body provides any subsidy;

(j) particulars of the recipients of concessions, permits or authorizations granted by the public body;

(k) facilities available with the public body for obtaining information held by it;

(l) name, designation and other particulars of the public information officer of the public body; and

(m) any other information that the Government may notify in the official Gazette.

5. Punjab Information Commission.--(1) The Government shall establish a Commission, to be called 'Punjab Information Commission'.

(2) The Commission shall consist of not more than three Information Commissioners to be appointed from amongst the following:--

(a) a person who has been or is qualified to be a Judge of the High Court;

(b) a person who is or has been in the service of Pakistan in basic scale 21 or equivalent; and

(c) a person from civil society having a degree based on sixteen years of education from a recognized institution and experience of not less than fifteen years in the field of mass communication, academic or right to information.

(3) The Government shall, on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed and until so prescribed as are determined by the Government, appoint the Commissioners.

(4) The Government shall nominate one of the Commissioners as Chief Information Commissioner who shall be the Chief Executive of the Commission.

(5) No person shall be appointed as Commissioner if he is more than sixty-five years of age on the date of appointment.

(6) A Commissioner shall hold office for a non-renewable term of three years.

(7) A Commissioner shall not hold any other public office or any other office of profit or be connected with any political party and shall not engage himself in any business or profession during the period he holds office of the Commissioner.

(8) Subject to sub-sections (9), (10) and (11), a Commissioner shall be liable to removal on grounds of misconduct or physical or mental incapacity.

(9) Before removing a Commissioner, the Government shall communicate the charges to the Commissioner and afford him reasonable opportunity to explain his position.

(10) If the Government is not satisfied with the defence offered, it may refer the case to Provincial Assembly of the Punjab for an open enquiry by a Special Committee to be constituted by the Provincial Assembly.

(11) If the Committee finds the Commissioner guilty of any of the charges mentioned in sub-section (8), the Government shall remove the Commissioner.

(12) It Provincial Assembly of the Punjab is dissolved and the situation mentioned in sub-section (8) has arisen, the Speaker of the Provincial Assembly shall constitute a special committee and such special committee may exercise the powers of special committee of the Provincial Assembly until the election of the new Provincial Assembly.

6. Functions of the Commission.--(1) The Commission may--

(a) conduct an inquiry, on its own accord or on a complaint, and may direct a public body to disclose information to an applicant or in a proactive manner;

(b) determine the public interest in terms of Section 13;

(2) The Commission shall decide a complaint within thirty days of its receipt or, for good reasons to be recorded in writing, within sixty days.

(3) The Commission may exercise the powers of a Civil Court to--

(a) summon and enforce attendance of persons, compel them to give oral or written evidence on oath and to produce documents or information;

(b) examine and inspect information;

(d) requisition information from any office; and

(e) issue summons for witnesses or documents.

(4) While inquiring into a complaint, the Commission or any person authorized by the Commission, may examine any information on spot.

(5) The Commission shall facilitate the application of the provisions of this Act and may--

(a) issue directives to public bodies for preservation, management, publication, publicity and access to information;

(b) prescribe the procedure for accessing information from a public body;

(c) advise and provide support to the Government to make necessary laws and procedures for implementation of the right to information;

(d) provide technical and other support to the public bodies for effective enforcement of right to information;

(e) conduct training of the public information officers;

(f) undertake mass awareness campaign to create awareness about the Act, rules and regulations;

(g) establish an information web-portal;

(h) compile a user handbook in Urdu and English, containing such information in easily comprehensible form and manner, as many reasonably be required by an applicant; and

(i) compile guidelines for use by the public information officers.

(6) The Commission shall prepare an annual report on the implementation of the provisions of this Act during a financial year and submit it to the Government by 31 August and the Government shall lay the report before Provincial Assembly of the Punjab.

(7) The annual report of the Commission shall, in particular, contain the following information:--

(a) status of right to information law, rules, regulations and procedures;

(b) progress on implementation of the freedom of information law, including district and department-wise summaries of information requests showing current status of each information request;

(d) budget, expenses and other organizational matters.

7. Designation of public information officers.--(1) A public body shall, within sixty days of the commencement of this Act, designate and notify as many officers as public information officers in all administrative units or offices under it, as may be necessary.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a public information officer shall provide information to an applicant, and shall perform such other functions as may be prescribed to achieve the purpose of this Act.

(3) The public information officer may seek necessary assistance of any other officer of the public body.

(4) Any officer whose assistance has been sought under sub-section (3) shall render all assistance to the public information officer seeking his assistance and for purposes of any contravention of the provisions of this Act, such other officer shall be deemed as public information officer.

8. Maintenance and indexing of information.--(1) Subject to provisions of this Act and the rules or regulations, a public body shall maintain information relating to the body in an easily accessible form.

(2) A public body shall, within the time prescribed by the Commission for any special or general categories of information, computerize or maintain in electronic form the information to enable--

(a) easy retrieval of information; and

(b) easy and authorized electronic access of information by an applicant.

9. Annual report of public bodies.--A public body shall publish in electronic form or otherwise an annual report of its activities under this Act during the previous financial year by 31 August each year in such manner as may be prescribed and make the report available for public inspection free of charge and for purchase at a reasonable cost.

10. Application procedure.--(1) An applicant may make an application to a public information officer on an information request form or on plain paper and the public information officer shall acknowledge receipt of the application.

(2) A public body shall make easily available to the public the information request form both in printed and electronic form.

(3) An applicant shall not be required to provide reasons for request for information and shall only be required to provide an adequate description of the information and the details necessary to provide the requisite information.

(4) Where an applicant is having difficulty making a request, including because he cannot describe the information in sufficient detail or because he is disabled or illiterate, the concerned public information officer shall provide reasonable assistance to the applicant.

(5) Where an applicant has indicated a preferred form of access, including a physical copy, an electronic copy or an opportunity to inspect documents, the public body shall provide access in that form unless doing so is likely to interfere with its operations or harm the document and in that case the information shall be provided in such form as may serve the purpose.

(6) The public body shall not charge any fee for making a request other than cost of reproducing or sending the information in accordance with a centrally set schedule of costs stipulated by the Commission.

(7) The public information officer shall respond to an application as soon as possible and in any case within fourteen working days, provided that this may be extended by a maximum of a further fourteen working days where this is necessary, including because the request requires a search through a large number of records or consultation with a third party or any other public body, but the public information officer shall provide the information relating to life or liberty of a person within two working days of the receipt of the application.

(8) Where the public information officer decides not to provide the information, he shall intimate to the applicant the reasons for such decision along with a statement that the applicant may file an internal review or a complaint against the refusal under this Act.

(9) The information from, or the copy of, any public record supplied to the applicant under sub-section (1) shall contain a certificate at the foot thereof that the information is correct or the copy is a true copy of such public record, and such certificate shall be dated, signed and stamped by the public information officer.

11. Transfer of application.--(1) Where an officer of a public body other than the concerned public information officer receives an application for access to information, such officer shall immediately transfer the application to the concerned public information officer under intimation to the applicant and the public information officer shall process the application as if he had received it under Section 10.

(2) If the information or part of the information requested in an application is not available with the public body or the office of the public body, the public information officer shall, within seven days and under intimation to the applicant, transfer the application to the public information officer to whom the application should have been made for provision of the information or part of the information.

(3) If the public information officer does not know the public body or the office where the requested information or part of the information may be available, he shall inform the applicant that the requested information or part of the information is not available with the public body.

(4) If an application is transferred to another public information officer under sub-section (2), the other public information officer shall process the application as if the other public information officer received the application under Section 10.

12. Internal review.--(1) If an applicant does not file a complaint with the Commission, he may request the head of the public body for internal review of any decision of the public information officer in relation to what the applicant regards as involving--

(a) a failure by the public information officer to comply with any provision of this Act including failure to communicate decision within the specified time; or

(b) unreasonable behaviour by the public information officer in the exercise of any discretion under the Act; or

(d) any other matter relating to requesting or obtaining access to information.

(2) An applicant shall, within sixty days from the date of communication of the decision of the public information officer or failure of the public information officer to provide information within the stipulated time, submit a request, in writing, under sub-section (1) and specify remedy which the applicant seeks against the decision of the public information officer.

(3) The officer before whom an application for internal review is filed under this section may exercise any of the powers of the public information officer under this Act and shall, within fourteen days of the receipt of the application--

(a) confirm, modify or reverse the decision of the public information officer;

(b) notify the decision of internal review to the applicant including reasons for the decision; and

(c) order departmental action against the public information officer if found negligent in performance of duties under this Act.

13. Exceptions.--(1) A public information officer may refuse an application for access to information where disclosure of the information shall or is likely to cause harm to--

(a) national defence or security, public order or international relations of Pakistan;

(b) a legitimate privacy interest, unless the person concerned has consented to disclosure of the information;

(d) the legitimate commercial interests of a public body or a third party, including information subject to third party intellectual property rights;

(e) the life, health or safety of any person;

(f) the prevention or detection of crime, the apprehension or prosecution of offenders, or the administration of justice;

(g) the ability of the Government to manage the economy; or

(h) the effective formulation of or success of a policy either by its premature disclosure or by restraining the free and frank provision of advice within the Government.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), if the Commission determines that the public interest in such disclosure outweighs the harm that shall or is likely to be caused by such disclosure, it may direct the public information officer to provide the information.

(3) Where a part of a document is covered by an exception in sub-section (1), any information in the document which is not covered by an exception shall be disclosed if it is reasonably severable from the rest of the document.

(4) Where the information is refused, the public information officer shall, within the time-limit specified under Section 10, inform the applicant specifying--

(a) the reasons on account of which and the provision of this Act under which the requested information is refused;

(b) procedure for internal review or complaint against the decision; and

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, any information mentioned in sub-section (1) may be disclosed by a public information officer if the information is more than fifty years old but the Commission may, in an appropriate case on application of a public body or otherwise, extend this time period of fifty years to a further twenty years.

14. Allocation of funds.--The Government shall allocate adequate funds to the Commission to enable it to establish a secretariat, hire the requisite staff to conduct its business properly, and promote access to information among the public, public servants and civil society.

15. Penalty on public information officer.--Where a public information officer has, without any reasonable cause, refused to receive an application, has not furnished information within time limits, or malafidely denied the request or knowingly gave incorrect, incomplete or misleading information, the Commission may, after providing sufficient opportunity of defense to the public information officer, direct the public information officer to pay fine not exceeding two days' salary for each day of delay or to pay fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees.

16. Offence.--In addition to any other action under any other law, any person who destroys a record which at the time it was destroyed was the subject of an application for access to information, internal review or complaint, or otherwise obstructs access to information which is the subject of an application, internal review or complaint, with the intention of preventing its disclosure under this Act, commits an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which shall not be loss than ten thousand rupees or with both.

17. Cognizance of offence under this Act.--A Court shall not take cognizance of the offence punishable under Section 16 of this Act except on a report in writing of the facts constituting such offence made with the previous sanction of the Commission or an officer authorized by the Commission.

18. Bar of suits etc.--A Court shall not entertain a suit, application or other proceeding in respect of any decision made under this Act and the decision shall not be called in question otherwise than by way of an internal review or a complaint under the Act.

19. Power to make rules.--(1) The Government, in consultation with the Commission and by notification in the official Gazette, may make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

(2) The rules shall also provide elaboration of the following provisions of this Act:--

(a) procedure for proper maintenance, indexing and storage of information, including details of information to be published in an electronic form;

(b) procedure for filing of request for information and a schedule of the costs for providing the information;

(d) information that shall be included in the annual report of each public body;

(e) procedure for publishing, displaying and obtaining the annual report;

(f) designation of public information officers, and if required, any other official delegates, and their duties and responsibilities;

(g) procedure for removal of a Commissioner, including definition of misconduct;

(h) finances, budgeting and staffing related to the Commission and its secretariat;

(i) responsibilities of Commissioners, mechanism for taking decisions, quorum requirements and procedures in case of non-availability of one or more Commissioners;

(j) provisions regarding imposition of penalties or fines; and

(k) any fees that may be charged by a public body in carrying out the provisions of this Act.

20. Power to frame regulations.--Subject to this Act and the rules, the Commission may, by notification, frame regulations to give effect to the provisions of the Act and the rules.

21. Power to remove difficulties.--If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Government may, by order in the official Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty.

22. Interpretation.--This Act, the rules and regulations shall be interpreted so as to advance the purposes of this Act and to facilitate and encourage, promptly and at the lowest reasonable cost, the disclosure of information and effective implementation of right to information.

23. Indemnity.--No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against any person for anything which is done in good faith or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any rules or regulations made under the Act.

24. Act to take precedence over other laws.--(1) The provisions of this Act shall take precedence over the provisions of any other law.

(2) An exception mentioned in Section 13 shall take precedence and any exception or limitation in any other law or\ right to information may not be construed to extend the scope of the exception in this Act, although such provision in other law may elaborate on the exception mentioned in Section 13.

25. Repeal.--The Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Ordinance (IV of 2013) is hereby repealed.

-----------------------------

ACT, XXVI OF 2013

LAHORE DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2013

An Act further to amend the Lahore Development
Authority Act, 1975

[Gazette of Punjab, Extraordinary, 16^th December, 2013]

No.PAP-Legis-2(15)/2013/970.--The Lahore Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2013, having been passed by the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab on 12th December 2013, and assented to by the Governor of the Punjab on 14th December 2013, is hereby published as an Act of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab.

Whereas it is expedient further to amend the Lahore Development Authority Act, 1975 (XXX of 1975) for purposes hereinafter appearing;

It is enacted as follows:--

1. Short title and commencement.--(1) This Act may be cited as the Lahore Development Authority (Amendment) Act, 2013.

(2) It shall come into force at once.

2. Amendment in preamble of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the Lahore Development Authority Act, 1975 (XXX of 1975), hereinafter referred to as the said Act, in the preamble, for the words "metropolitan area of Lahore", the words "area of Lahore Division" shall be substituted.

3. Amendment in Section 1 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, in Section 1, for sub-section (2), the following shall be substituted:--

"(2) It shall extend to Lahore Division."

4. Amendment in Section 2 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, in Section 2, for the words "City District", the word "Division" shall be substituted.

5. Amendment in Section 3 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, for Section 3, the following shall be substituted:--

3. Definitions.--In this Act--

(a) "Agency" means an Agency established by the Authority to perform one or more of its functions under the Act;

(b) "Authority" means Lahore Development Authority constituted under Section 4 of the Act;

(d) "Chairman" means the Chairman of the Authority;

(e) "Collector" means the Collector of a district appointed under the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1967 (XVII of 1967) and includes any officer specially appointed by the Board of Revenue, Punjab to perform the functions of Collector under this Act;

(f) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Lahore Division;

(g) "compensation" means payment in the form of cash or, at the option of the land owner in any other form such as bonds, debentures, annuities, afternate land, developed sites or a combination of two or more of such forms;

(h) "concession" means the grant by the Authority of any of its rights, privileges or functions to a person in consideration of the investment made or arranged by such person at the instance of the Authority in a public utility infrastructure project;

(i) "conversion" means any change in use of land or property from the one originally provided in an approved scheme or master plan of an area;

(j) "Director General" means the Director General of the Authority;

(k) "fee" means an amount levied by the Authority on the land, area, scheme or property on account of any privilege, benefit, services, transfer of rights and interests, issuance of a licence or permission or any cost and includes charges for provision of water supply, construction, maintenance and network of roads, drainage, sewerage and other services;

(l) "Government" means Government of the Punjab;

(m) "Government agency" includes--

(i) a division, department, bureau, section, commission, board, office or unit of the Government;

(ii) a local government; and

(iii) a developmental or any other public authority, company or corporation owned or controlled by the Government or a local government;

(n) "housing scheme" means a scheme which provides for residential sites, houses or apartments including ancillary land uses such as—

(i) building and other facilities for health, education, recreation, culture, transportation, communication and shopping;

(ii) environmental improvement; and

(iii) utility services such as water supply, drainage, sewerage, sanitation, electricity, fuel and other related services;

(o) "land" includes earth, water and air, above, below or on the surface and any improvements in the structure customarily regarded as land and benefits arising out of land and things attached to earth or permanently fastened to earth;

(p) "local government" means a local government as defined in the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 (XVIII of 2013) or in any other law;

(q) "Managing Director" means the principal executive of an Agency;

(r) "master plan" means the traditional method for presenting a set of land usage, allocation and control measures in the form of a map or in graphical form and is supported by written statement of goals and objectives, strategy, financial implications and policies for planning and development for an area and includes a structure plan, an outline development plan, a spatial plan, peri-urban structure plan and a metropolitan plan;

(s) "member" means a member of the Authority and includes its Chairman;

(t) "person" includes an individual, company, firm, institution, Government agency, co-operative society or association of individuals whether incorporated or not;

(u) "person interested" includes a person claiming an interest in the compensation to be made on account of the acquisition of land under the Act;

(v) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules or regulations;

(w) "scheme" means a project approved for urban development, redevelopment or renewal and includes larger area plan, areas specified and notified for specific use, traffic control plans, classification and reclassification plans, housing scheme or zoning scheme;

(x) "service area" means an area to be notified as such by the Authority and in which an Agency provides services;

(y) "sponsor" means the sponsor or developer of a private housing scheme and, for the purpose of an offence liable to imprisonment under the Act, includes the chief executive, director or any other individual incharge of the scheme on behalf of sponsor entity;

(z) "toll" means a charge levied and collected for the use of a road, bridge, flyover, underpass or similar other facility; and

(aa) "tribunal" means a tribunal constituted under the Act."

6. Amendment in Section 4 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, in Section 4--

(a) for sub-section (3), the following shall be substituted:--

"(3) The Authority shall consist of the following Chairman and members--

(a) Chief Minister Punjab; Chairman

(b) six elected representatives to be nominated by the Government from amongst the following;--

(i) minimum two members of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, not more than one from each district of Lahore Division;

(ii) minimum two members of the local government who may be Mayor of the Metropolitan Corporation, Lahore, Chairman of a Municipal Committee or Chairman of a District Council, not more than one from each district of Lahore Division

(iii) two members from either of the two categories as provided in clauses (i) and (ii);

(d) Secretary to Government, Finance Department;

(e) Secretary to Government, Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering Department;

(f) Secretary to Government, Local Government and Community Development Department;

(g) Commissioner;

(h) two technical experts to be appointed by the Government;

(i) Director General; and

(j) all Managing Directors."; and

(b) in sub-section (4), the words "Zila Council with the approval of” shall be omitted.

7. Amendment in Section 6 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, in Section 6, in sub-section (2)--

(a) in clause (i), for the words "a Metropolitan Development Plan", the words "and implementing master plan" shall be substituted; and

(b) in clauses (ii), (iv) and (v), for the words "Metropolitan Development Plan", wherever occur, the words "master plan" shall be substituted.

8. Amendment in Section 10 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, in Section 10, in sub-section (3), after the words "specified in the", the word "First" shall be inserted.

9. Amendment in Section 13 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, in Section 13--

(a) for sub-section (5), the following shall be substituted:--

"(5) A person, local body or Government agency shall not, within the area, prepare a planning or development scheme except with the concurrence of the Authority."; and

(b) for sub-section (6), the following shall be substituted:--

"(6) In case of a private housing scheme, the Authority may grant approval subject to the following conditions:--

(a) mortgage of twenty percent plots of the scheme with the Authority against development and clearance of all kinds of default under applicable laws, rules and regulations;

(b) transfer of minimum fifty percent area of public building sites in the name of the Authority up to a maximum of two percent of the scheme area;

(c) transfer of land falling under roads, parks, open spaces, graveyards or other such services in the name of the Authority;

(d) such other conditions as may be prescribed.

(7) The Authority shall decide the application for approval within six months from the date of completion of the conditions under sub-section (6).

(8) The approval of a farm housing schemes or a constructed houses scheme shall be subject to the conditions mentioned in sub-section (6) and such other conditions or guarantees as may be prescribed.

(9) The development of an approved scheme shall be completed within the period given hereunder:--

(a) two years, in case of sub-division or an area up to 100 kanals;

(b) three years, in case of an area from 101 kanals to 300 kanals; and

(10) In every scheme, such provision for place of worship shall be made as may be prescribed."

10. Insertion of Section 13A in Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, after Section 13, the following Section 13A shall be inserted:--

"13-A. Establishment of housing schemes, projects etc.--(1) The Authority may prepare, establish and develop housing and any other schemes, buildings, infrastructure, services, commercial, semi-commercial projects or sites and for the purpose it may enter into an agreement with any person.

(2) A housing scheme under sub-section (1) shall be approved in the manner prescribed for the preparation of a scheme under this Act."

11. Amendment in Section 14 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, for Section 14, the following shall be substituted:--

"14. Land use classification.--The Authority may, at any time, modify a scheme prepared under this Act by way of change of land use through classification, reclassification or redevelopment in the prescribed manner and shall publish, in the official Gazette, such modification or change."

12. Insertion of Section 14A in Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, after Section 14, the following Section 14A shall be inserted:--

"14A. Control of master plan, etc.--(1) The Authority shall make, maintain, amend, manage, enforce and keep in its custody the master plan of the area.

(2) The Authority shall, in the prescribed manner, exercise land use control and perform housing functions in the area.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law, a person shall be bound to adhere to the master plan, rules and regulations for land use control and housing functions as referred to in sub-sections (1) and (2).

(4) In case any person contravenes any of the provisions of this section, the Authority may direct that till the time the contravention continues--

(a) transfer of any immovable property shall be prohibited;

(b) the Collector to impose a ban on the issuance of Fard Malkiat, registration of any document or attestation of mutation in favour of the said person; and

(c) the local government, Agency or Government agency to stop or discontinue the provision of municipal services to such person."

13. Amendment in Section 18 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, for Section 18, the following shall be substituted:--

"18. Controlled area.--(1) The Authority may, by notification in the official Gazette, declare any locality within the area to be a controlled area for purposes of this Act and may issue in respect of such controlled area such directions as it considers fit and appropriate and do all such things as may be necessary for the prevention of haphazard growth, encroachments and unauthorized constructions in such area.

(2) The Authority may, by notification in the official Gazette, notify any controlled area to be no longer such area.

(3) The Authority may, by notification in the official Gazette, entrust any of its functions in any locality within the area, to any duly appointed agent or any Government agency.

(4) For purposes of sub-section (3), the Authority may enter into an agreement with a person or any entity on such terms and conditions as may be mutually agreed."

14. Amendment in Section 19 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, for Section 19, the following shall be substituted:--

"19. Assigning functions of a local government.--For any locality within the area, the local government may assign any of its functions to the Authority on such terms and conditions as may be mutually agreed and, while exercising such functions, the Authority may exercise the powers of the local government."

15. Amendment in Section 23 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, in Section 23, the words and commas ",with the previous consent of the Government," shall be omitted.

16. Amendment in Section 25 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, for Section 25, the following shall be substituted:--

"25. Liability to acquisition.--(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (I of 1894), any land within the area shall be liable to acquisition at any time in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.

(2) The Authority may acquire or purchase in a transparent manner any immovable property or land for any public purpose including development of housing or any other scheme, urban renewal, redevelopment, environmental improvement or removal of source of pollution or traffic congestion."

25A. Application of Land Acquisition Act.--The Authority may acquire an immovable property under this Act and, unless otherwise provided under this Act, the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (I of 1894) shall apply.

25B. Compensation.--(1) The Authority shall determine the mode of compensation in the form of cash, bonds, debentures, annuities, afternate land, developed sites or in a combination of such forms.

(2) Where the Authority determines any mode of compensation other than cash, the person interested shall have the option to receive compensation either in cash or in that mode or in both such forms if so determined by the Authority.

(3) Where the compensation is to be paid in cash, it shall be determined by the Collector at the time of announcement of the award.

(4) If any person has, by mistake, fraud or misrepresentation, received any compensation or any excess compensation, which was not payable to him, the Collector shall call upon such person to refund such amount and in case of default the Collector may recover it as arrears of land revenue.

(5) The Authority shall not provide afternate land or developed site in any scheme except the scheme for which the property was acquired.

(6) Where provision of afternate land or developed site is part of a scheme but for any reasons, such land or developed site cannot be provided, the Authority shall pay compensation in cash at such rate as is mentioned in the award of the Collector.

(7) It the Authority, after due diligence, satisfies any claim of compensation, the Authority shall not entertain any subsequent claim in respect of the property and the person who is subsequently declared as person interested shall recover the compensation from the person who earlier received compensation for the said property.

(8) The Collector, tribunal or a Court may direct a beneficiary of compensation to compensate any subsequent bona fide claimant or person interested.

25C. Tribunal.--(1) The Government shall constitute a tribunal to decide objections regarding the person interested, measurement of the land under acquisition, award, apportionment or payment of compensation.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (I of 1894), any person aggrieved from an award of the Collector may, within sixty days from the date of the award, submit objections against the award before the tribunal.

(3) The tribunal shall consist of a President and two assessors, each of them shall be called a member of the tribunal.

(4) The president of the tribunal shall be--

(a) a Senior Civil Judge or a Civil Judge First Class with at least five years experience as Civil Judge;

(b) an advocate of not less than seven years' experience as advocate of High Court; or

(5) The Government shall appoint the President and assessors for a period of two years on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed but a person who is more than sixty-five years of age shall not be appointed as the President or assessor

(6) The Government shall prescribe qualifications of an assessor.

(7) The Government may--

(a) dissolve the tribunal with effect from such date as may be mentioned in the notification to be published in the official Gazette; and

(b) provide in that notification the consequences of such dissolution.

(8) The Government shall fill a vacancy in the tribunal within a period of thirty days from the date of occurrence of the vacancy.

(9) The Government may, on the recommendations of the President, create such posts of officers and staff as may be necessary and appointment to such posts shall be made in the prescribed manner.

(10) The Authority shall bear all expense of the tribunal, including remuneration of the members and other servants of the tribunal and such expense shall be a valid charge on the funds of the Authority.

25D. Inquiry and decision.--(1) The tribunal may--

(a) conduct an inquiry in any case;

(b) while inquiring into a case, exercise powers of a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V of 1008) in respect of the following matters:

(i) summon and enforce attendance of a person, compel a person to give oral or written evidence on oath and to produce a document or any other material;

(ii) receive evidence on affidavit;

(iii) requisition information from any office; and

(iv) issue summons for witnesses or documents.

(2) The tribunal shall not be constituted in the absence of the President but the absence of an assessor or assessors shall not adversely affect the proceedings of the tribunal.

(3) A decision of the tribunal shall be expressed in terms of the opinion of the majority, or if the case has been decided by the President and only one of the assessors and there is a difference of opinion between them, the decision of the tribunal shall be expressed in terms of the opinion of the President.

(4) The tribunal shall finally decide a case within six months from the date of initiation of proceedings and if it fails to decide the case within six months then it shall conduct day to day proceedings in the case till the final decision of the case.

(5) The tribunal shall execute its decisions as if it is a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V of 1908).

25E. Patent errors.--The Collector or the tribunal may, at any time, correct any patent error of law or any patent arithmetical or clerical error or mistake in the award, decision or order."

17. Amendment in Section 26 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, for Section 26, the following shall be substituted:--

"26. Purchase, lease or exchange of property.--The Authority may, by negotiations, in the prescribed manner, purchase, lease or exchange any land or building or any other property by entering into an agreement with the owner of the property, or a person legally competent to sell, lease out or exchange such property.”

18. Amendment in Section 27 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, in Section 27, in sub-section (4), the word "District" shall be omitted.

19. Amendment in Section 28 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, in Section 28, for sub-section (1), the following shall be substituted:--

“(1) The Authority may raise adequate funds to meet the cost of planning, expansion, execution, development, redevelopment, maintenance, zoning, classification, reclassification, augmentation, supervision, regulation and conversion of any property or any present and future scheme or any part of the scheme, by imposing rates, fees, surcharge, other charges and fines in the prescribed manner.

“'(1a) The Authority may, in the prescribed manner, impose fee on change of land use owing to classification and reclassification."

20. Amendment in Section 29 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, in Section 29, after sub-section (2), the following shall be inserted:--

"(3) The Authority may, in the prescribed manner, levy rate on any person who has installed or intends to install tubewell within the area.

(4) Any person violating the provisions of sub-section (2) shall be liable to punishment under this Act along with closure or sealing of the said tubewell by the Authority."

21. Amendment in Section 31 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, for Section 31, the following shall be substituted:

"31. Budget.--The Director General shall prepare, in such manner and at such time as may be prescribed, a budget in respect of the financial year next ensuing showing the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Authority and each of its Agencies and shall submit the same to the Authority for approval."

22. Amendment in Section 33 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, for Section 33, the following shall be substituted:

"33. Penalty.--(1) If a person contravenes any provision of this Act, or any rules or regulations made under this Act, he shall, if no other penalty is provided for such contravention, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to two hundred thousand rupees or with both.

(2) The Magistrate competent to try an offence under sub-section (1) may try the offence in a summary manner in accordance with the provisions of sections 260 to 265 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898)."

23. Amendment of Section 34 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, for Section 34, the following shall be substituted:--

"34. Penalty against sponsors.--The Authority, beside other steps, shall impose the fine mentioned below on the sponsor, if he continues to develop the scheme without approval of layout plan and scheme plan or fails to develop the scheme or sub-division of the scheme after approval of plan within the stipulated period--

(a) five thousand rupees per day till the default continues in respect of the schemes having area up to 300 kanals;

(b) ten thousand rupees per day till the default continues in respect of the schemes having an area more than 300 kanals but up to 500 kanals;

(c) fifteen thousand rupees per day till the default continues for the schemes having an area more than 500 kanals but up to 1000 kanals; and

(d) twenty thousand rupees per day till the default continues for schemes having an area more than 1000 kanals.

34-A. Extension in time.--If a sponsor fails to complete the development work within the given time owing to reasons beyond his control, the Authority may, after recording reasons, once extend the period for completion of the development work up to two years on payment of penalty of ten thousand rupees per kanal per year or part of it, of the total area of the scheme.

34-B. Cancellation of approved scheme.--(1) In case a sponsor is unable to develop or complete an approved scheme, he may apply to the Authority for the cancellation of the scheme subject to the condition that he has not sold any plot in the scheme and provides such surety as the Authority deems appropriate.

(2) Subject to the conditions mentioned in sub-section (1), the Authority may cancel the scheme on payment of all the outstanding dues including fine, and value of fifty percent of the public building sites transferred or liable to be transferred to the Authority.

(3) The approved evaluator of the Authority shall, in the prescribed manner, assess the value of land under sub-section (2).

(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to absolve the sponsor from satisfying any claim of a third person arising out of the cancellation of the approved plan or scheme.

(5) A sponsor of an approved plan or scheme may hand over or transfer the approved plan or scheme to another sponsor after obtaining a no objection certificate from the Authority in the prescribed manner."

24. Amendment in Section 35 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, for Section 35, the following shall be substituted:--

"35. Offences and cognizance.--If a person commits an offence specified in--

(a) Part-A of Second Schedule, such person shall be liable to imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years or fine which may extend to five hundred thousand rupees or with both and where an accused was directed by the Authority for immediate discontinuance of the offence, the Court may impose a further fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees for every day for the period the accused has persisted in the offence from the date of its commission; and

(b) Part-B of Second Schedule, he shall be liable to imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or fine which may extend to one hundred thousand rupees or with both and where an accused was directed by the Authority for immediate discontinuance of the offence, the Court may impose a further fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees for every day for the period the accused has persisted in the offence from the date of its commission.

(2) An offence punishable under sub-section (1) shall be cognizable on a complaint in writing of an officer authorized by the Authority to the officer incharge of the police station."

25. Amendment in Section 36 of the Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, in Section 36, for the words "District Government and Provincial Government", the word "Government" shall be substituted.

26. Amendment in Section 38 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, for Section 38, the following shall be substituted:--

"38. Conversion of property to a different use.--If a person converts a property to a different use or purpose than the one provided under a scheme, master plan or classification map without the previous approval in writing of the Authority, he shall be liable to punishment of fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees per day from the date of its conversion till the default continues or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with both."

27. Amendment in Section 39 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, for Section 39, the following shall be substituted:--

"39. Ejectment of unauthorized occupants.--(1) Subject to an opportunity of hearing, the Director General or any person authorized by the Director General may summarily eject any person in unauthorized occupation of any land or property vested in the Authority and may for such ejectment use such force as may be necessary.

(2) Subject to an opportunity of hearing, the Director General or any person authorized by the Director General may, on his own motion or on the application of the owner, summarily eject any person in unauthorized occupation of any land or plot in a housing scheme developed and controlled by the Authority and may, for such ejectment, use such force as may be necessary.

(3) Nothing contained in sub-sections (1) and (2) shall prohibit the Director General or any person authorized by the Director General to proceed against such person on commission of an offence, as provided in the Act.

28. Amendment in Section 40 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, in Section 40--

(a) for the words "District Coordination Officer", wherever occur, the words "Director General", shall be substituted; and

(b) in sub-section .(2), after, the words "use of land", the words "by sealing the premises or land" shall be inserted.

29. Amendment in Section 46 of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, for Section 46, the following shall be substituted:--

"46. Act to prevail over other laws.--In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the provisions of this Act and the provisions of any other law, the provisions of this Act shall, to the extent of such conflict or inconsistency, prevail particularly in matters of master-plan, land use and housing functions."

30. Amendment in Schedule of Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, in the Schedule, before the word "Schedule", the word "FIRST" shall be inserted.

31. Insertion of Second Schedule in Act, XXX of 1975.--In the said Act, after First Schedule, the following Second Schedule shall be inserted:--

"SECOND SCHEDULE

[See Section 35]

LIST OF OFFENCES

Part-A

1. Discharging any dangerous chemical, inflammable, hazardous or offensive article in any drain, or sewer, public watercourse or public land vested in, managed, maintained or controlled by Authority or an Agency in such manner as causes or is likely to cause danger to persons passing by or living or working in neighborhood, or risk or injury to property or causing harm to the environment.

2. Failure of industrial or commercial concerns or such property holders to provide adequate and safe disposal of affluent or prevention of their mixing up with the water supply or sewerage system.

Part-B

3. Willfully obstructing any officer or servant of Authority or any person authorized to exercise powers conferred under this Act.

4. Failure to deliver back possession of property to the Authority on expiration or cancellation of lease or allotment or exemption of plot.

5. Doing an act without license, approval or permission when the doing of such act requires a license or permission under any of the provisions of the Act, the rules or regulations.

6. Violation of the master plan, building plan or sanctioned site development scheme including the plans and schemes sanctioned under the repealed enactments, allotting, selling or using the land for the purpose other than the approved layout plan.

7. Erection or re-erection of building over set back area or parking area or building line area required to be left open under the rules or bylaws for using such space for any purpose which is not approved.

8. Changing or converting into any other use any portion of a commercial or residential building or area specified or earmarked for public parking or amenities.

9. Establishing any parking stand on any property or on any open space and public park or land vested in or managed; maintained or controlled by the Authority or an Agency.

10. Establishing temporary shops or running any restaurant or vending stalls for eatables, wooden khokas or any sort of commercial activity on any road, street, footpath, public place, over a drain, or any other property vesting in the Authority.

11. Obstructing or tampering with any road, street, drain or sewer pipe or pavement or tampering with any main pipe, meter or any apparatus or appliance for the supply of water or sewerage system or laying out a drain or aftering any drain in a street or road.

12. Connecting any house drain with a drain in a public street without approval of the Authority;

13. Drawing off, diverting or taking any water except with the permission required under this Act, rules or regulations.

14. Willfully causing damage, or allowing damage to be caused to any property which vests in the Authority, or which is intended to be acquired by the Authority, or unlawfully converting it to his own or any other person's use.

15. Refusal or willfully neglecting to provide any officer or servant of the Authority with the means necessary for entering into any premises for the purpose of collecting any information or making an examination or enquiry in relation to any water works.

16. Failure or neglect of the sponsor to abide by or fulfill the commitment made to a person regarding allotment of a plot, housing unit or price of the same in any scheme.

17. Without lawful excuse, failing or refusing to comply with any direction or order issued by the Authority under this Act.

18. Unauthorized occupation without permission of the owner of land or plot in a housing scheme developed and controlled by the Authority.

19. Attempting to commit or abetting the commission of an offence punishable under this Act."

32. Commission on issues of bona fide purchasers, illegal schemes and illegal constructions.--(1) After the commencement of this Act, the Government shall constitute a Commission, as a one-time dispensation, for considering and deciding matters and disputes pertaining to bona fide purchase for value owing to irregular or fraudulent transaction in respect of property, establishment of scheme in an illegal manner or illegally constructed structures.

(2) The Government shall appoint the Chairman and members of the Commission on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed and until so prescribed as the Government may determine.

(3) The Commission shall perform its functions in such manner as may be prescribed and until so prescribed as the Government may determine.

(4) The Authority or any officer so authorized by the Authority, on its own motion or on the application of any person, may refer any matter to the Commission for consideration, resolution and decision if a prima facie case is made out.

(5) The Commission shall consider and make appropriate recommendations on matters pertaining to—

(a) bona fide purchase for value owing to irregular or fraudulent transaction in respect of property, the extent of legality or illegality of the transaction, apportionment of responsibility in irregular or fraudulent transaction and translation of this responsibility into monetary terms and recommendation of such conditions, fines, rates or fix price, retrieval of property and demolition as deemed appropriate according to the nature of each case;

(b) establishing a scheme in an illegal manner, give recommendations in order to regularize such schemes, if deem appropriate, requiring the sponsor or developer to adhere to the applicable laws, rules and regulations, recommending such conditions, modifications, amendments, fines, penalties, approval and disapproval according to the nature of each case; and

(c) illegally constructed structures, give recommendations in order to regularize such structures, if deem appropriate, requiring the owner to adhere to the applicable laws, rules and regulations, recommending such conditions, modifications, amendments, fines, penalties, demolition of structures according to the nature of each case.

(6) No matter under sub-section (1) arising after the date of commencement of this Act shall be referred to the Commission by the Authority in any manner whatsoever.

(7) Any person aggrieved by the recommendations of the Commission may, within sixty days from the date of communication of the recommendations, prefer an appeal to Lahore High Court.

(8) Subject to the decision of appeal under sub-section (7), the recommendations of the Commission shall be binding on the Authority.

(9) The Government may, on the recommendations of the Chairman of the Commission, create such posts of officers and staff as may be necessary and appointment to such posts shall be made in the prescribed manner.

(10) The Authority shall bear all expense of the Commission, including remuneration of the Chairman and members and other servants of the Commission and such expense shall be a valid charge on the funds of the Authority.

(11) The Government may, by notification, make rules for giving effect to the provisions of this section.

33. Repeal.--The Lahore Development Authority (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 (III of 2013) is hereby repealed.

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