RAWALPINDI: Extremely high cost fixed by the Punjab government forced the postponement of an auction of a precious public land here on Monday for an indefinite period of time.

An auction was to be held at the Commissioner’s Office for the sale of 36 kanals and four marlas of expensive land, located in the commercial hub of the city including Kashmiri Bazaar, Fawara Chowk and Jinnah Road.

The land featured old buildings and offices of non-functional Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation, Tehsil Office and police department.

Initially, eight parties expressed interest in the purchase of the land. However, Rs 6 million per marla was fixed as the initial price by Punjab Privatization Board at the time of the auction. The cost was so high that it deterred interested parties from submitting bids.

The Board for the purpose of auction divided the entire land into seven plots of different sizes.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Punjab government had decided to put up lands for sale throughout Punjab to deal with the current financial crises, which the province faces now days.

“Estimated cost of the land in question was fixed at Rs 6 million per marla, whereas actual market value of the land is Rs 7 million per marla,” Auction Committee Chairman and Punjab Privatization Board Member Chaudhary Safdar Mehmood told this scribe.

He said the Punjab government expected to generate Rs 3 billion from the sale of the land. “People, however, are not interested in purchasing it,” he added. “Cost would be retained for the next six months. After that, it would be altered, if deemed necessary,” he added.

When this scribe contacted a District Administration official, he said, “The Punjab government intends to earn a handsome amount from this auction. If appropriate price is not attained, we will not sell the land.”

On the other hand, protests by shopkeepers, whose businesses are likely to be affected by the auction, continue. The shopkeepers also pay monthly rents to the police personnel regularly.

Addressing one such protest demonstration, shopkeepers said that some parliamentarians and bigwigs of PML (N), in pursuit of their vested interests, were bent upon hoodwinking Punjab chief minister on the matter.