LAHORE: A Punjab Assembly committee has summoned in person senior officers of the provincial officialdom in the Lahore Gymkhana land lease controversy for its sitting on Wednesday (today).

The Special Committee No 6 met here on Tuesday and questioned how more than 100 acres of prime government land in the provincial capital could be leased to the exclu-sive Lahore Gymkhana Club at an annual rent of just Rs5,000, seeking the original approval record and legal basis for the arrangement.

The meeting, chaired by MPA Samiullah Khan, expressed serious concerns at the nominal rent and the renewal of the club`s lease for another 50 years in 2000, even though the earlier lease was still subsisting at the time.

The committee issued a summons through the Punjab chief secretary, asking the Board of Revenue senior member (SMBR) to attend the Wednesday sitting in person with complete lease record, while secretaries of law and parliamentary affairs, and agriculture departments as well as Lahore deputy commissioner, directors-general of excise & taxation and of Lahore Development Authority have also been asked to attend the Wednesday proceedings along with all relevant record.

The committee has compared the concession with government campaignsagainst encroachments, during which shops are removed and street vendors are evicted from public land. It questioned why ordinary citizens faced strict enforcement while an exclusive elite body continued to enjoy the use of a vast tract of state land on exceptionally favourable terms.

MPA Amjad Ali Javed described the arrangement as an example of `elite capture` and questioned whether the state had adequately protected its assets. MPA Ahmad Iqbal Chaudhary called the club a `colonial relic`, arguing that privileges inconsistent with equitable governance and public benefit required review.

MPA Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain Chhachhar demanded accountability from the institutions and officials responsible for allowing the arrangement with the gymkhana to continue. He also questioned whether permanent structures on the leased land had obtained the necessary government approvals and why the relevant regulatory authorities had not applied thesame scrutiny to the club as they did to ordinary citizens.

The members expressed dissatisfaction with the BoR`s inability to explain clearly the basis on which the annual rent was fixed at Rs5,000 and the statutory authority under which the lease deed was executed in 1996. They also questioned the timing and legality of the 1996 renewal for a further 50-year period beginning in 2000, when the previous lease had not yet expired.

The committee directed the Colonies Wing of the BoR to submit the complete record of the lease approval, including summaries, file notings, official orders, valuation criteria and the executed deed. It sought documentary evidence identifying the competent authority, the legal provisions invoked and the grounds for fixing the annual rent at the nominal amount.

Members also referred to the Lahore High Court judgement in The Lahore Gymkhana v. Punjab Information Commission (PLD 2023 Lahore 278) while examining the arrangement.The committee also raised questions about the tax compliance of restaurants and shops operating within the club. The relevant department informed the members that no previous audit had been conducted to verify compliance with applicable tax obligations, prompting further concern about regulatory oversight.

The members said they were not members of the Lahore Gymkhana Club and would not seek membership in the future, stressing that the proceedings were driven by public interest rather than any personal benefit, conflict of interest or mala fide intention.

The committee also questioned whether such an extensive area of public land should continue to serve a restricted membership instead of being used in a manner that benefits the wider public.

Representatives of the club, including its management, have been summoned to the committee`s next meeting at 2pm on Wednesday to present their position and supporting documents.