The Police Department has been allegedly occupying different rest houses of the Irrigation Department for the last two decades and is reluctant to vacate them despite several notices served by the department concerned in this regard, Operations Executive Engineer Ihsan Khan said on Thursday.
The Irrigation and Power Department had sent a report to the government for early vacation of the rest houses and had also sought recovery of pending rents of over Rs12 million.
Khan said that senior police officers had occupied the Sada Rest House in Lodhran canal division since April 24, 1991. The Qureshiwala Rest House, also in Lodhran canal division, had been occupied since April 23, 1992, and the Lyallpur Rest House in Multan canal division since February 19, 1989.
The Mailsi Canal Rest House in Islam Head works division in Vehari had been vacated, but its Rs355,000 rent was yet to be paid, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 13th, 2013.