LAHORE: The residents and traders of many residential and commercial areas are in a eight spot as the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) is set to acquire their properties, partially or completely, for the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train Project.

Although the government has announced that the af fected people will be paid according to the market value/prices instead of the district collector rates, the situation has panicked them. Some people are already looking for suitable places toshiftand resettleinfuture.

The government will soon startacquiring 1,166 kanal private land in 20 mauzas falling within the territorial jurisdiction of three of the five teshils of Lahore city district -Shalimar, City and Raiwind. Four of the 20 mauzas exist in the land acquisition list and lose a big chunk of private land measuring 785 kanal and 10 marlas. These are Niaz Baig, Rakh Khamba, Kotali Ghassi and Lahore Khaas.

According to a notification issued under section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894, the mauzas where the government plans to acquire private land for the project include Bagariyan Syedan (50 kanal), Niaz Baig (125 kanal), Qilla Gujjar Singh (33 kanal), Rakh Khamba (100 kanal), Masodanpura(5 kanal and 10 marla), Achant Garh (15 kanal and 10 marla), Baghbanpura (13 kanal), Pakki Thathi (19 Kanal and 10 marla), Dholanwal (3 kanal and 10 marla), Nawankot (31 kanal), Kharak (21 kanal), Kakeyzai (5 kanal), Kotall Ghassi (470 1(anal), Hando (31 kanal), Mozang (27 kanal), Lahore Khaas (95 kanal), Devipura (1 kanal and 10 marla), Amarkot (50 kanal), Syedpur (3 kanal and 5 marla) and Naulakha (22 kanal and 10 marla).

The land acquisition plan for 10 of the 20 mauzas was revised after the LDA told the government that more land was required there.

These include Mauza Baghbanpura where 4 kanal were added under anew notification No. 640-2015/5733 in the original plan. The others are: Qilla Gujjar Singh where two kanal and 10 marla have been added, Mozang (2 kanal), Lahore Khaas (10 marlas), Nawankot (10 kanal), Pakki Thathi (10 marla), Syedpur (5 1(anal), Kharak (7 1(anal), Kakeyzai (7 kanal) and Rakh Khamba (5 1(anal).

The residents whose land/property is being acquired are worried after the officials told them about the plan.

`You cannot imagine the distress we are facing since the officials came to the area and told us about land acquisition,` Asif Ali, a resident of Katcha Lake Road (near Jain Mandir, Mauza LahoreKhaas) told Dawn.

He, along with his brothers and others, has been living in the area for de cades. `I own 3.5-marla house valuing Rs4 million to Rs5 million.

And if the government pays us this amount, we will be able to get another house,` he said. He said he and other residents were worried as to how they would resettle/reestablishthebusinesstheyhavebeen doing.

`We are not against this project andarereadytosurrenderourland to the government but appeal to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to not only give us market price of our houses but also grant us additional money for our resettlement/relocation,` Ali demanded.