ISLAMABAD, Oct 2: The Supreme Court scrapped on Wednesday a dubious land deal between the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Lahore and the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) which caused an estimated loss of Rs1.934 billion to the latter.

The DHA had approached the ETPB in 2007 to acquire three pieces of its land. Under the deal, the ETPB was supposed to get 642 of the 973 developed residential plots measuring one kanal each to be carved out as per DHA standard. At that time the value of 642 developed plots was estimated at Rs6.42 billion.

The ETPB had on July 23, 2007, decided to proceed with the arrangement agreed with the authority in view of the increasing value of developed plots in DHA. In August 2008, the board conveyed its decision to the Ministry of Minorities Affairs and sought a formal approval of the government. The ministry advised the ETPB not to go ahead without the government approval and kept the matter pending till the ETPB was reconstituted on Nov 14, 2007, and again on April 10, 2009.

The new board swung into action soon after its reconstitution and in less than a week approved a revised offer of the DHA in which the number of developed plots in lieu of the board`s raw land was reduced by 108 plots. The approval was given by the ETPB at a meeting held on April 16, 2009, and conveyed to the Ministry of Minorities Affairs on April 25.The ministry this time was gracious enough to approve the board`s decision within days and the deal was finally reached on May 8, 2009.

In its judgment issued on Wednesday, a three-judge SC bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed that the deal suffered from corruption and corrupt practices. It declared the ETPB decision and subsequent approval given by the government on April 29, 2009, as void and of no legal consequence.

But the court gave the DHA an option to accept the ETPB`sdecision taken on July 23, 2007, and hand over the developed plots to the board as per the initial arrangements agreed upon.

`The acceptance of this offer must be communicated to the ETPB within 30 days, failing which the DHA will be bound to return the land to the ETPB by reversing the mutation entries and also cancelling the sale deeds executed between the two parties, the order said.

Taking note of the record that the DHA had acquired more than the agreed land, the court directed a senior member of the Punjab`s Board of Revenue to make arrangements for demarcation of the ETPB property and ensure restoration of the excess land.The court said the DHA would not be entitled to obtain the possession from the lessee or on the development of land as no evidence had been brought on record. `However, to substantiate the same, if so advised, the DHA has to resort to the court of law to prove its claim by adducing evidence, it added.

The court said the chairman and members of the ETPB had also handed over Rs986 million to two companies for a socalled joint venture which absolutely had no existence.

The amount was recovered in pursuance of the court`s June 7 order.

Noting that various illegalities, irregularities and violations of financial instructions and laws had been committed in the transactions entered into by the ETPB with DHA Lahore and Islamabad, the court directed the secretary of Ministry of Minorities Affairs to arrange forensic audit of the ETPB for the past five years.

On the receipt of the reports, it ordered, action be taken against the delinquents in accordance with the law.

The court said both the transactions called for civil and criminal proceedings against former ETPB chairman Asif Akhtar Hashmi and all those who were directly or indirectly responsible for the same. It asked the FIA to complete its inquiry into the matter as early as possible.

The court also directed the federal government to appoint the ETPB chairman as soon as possible.