In April, the Punjab government had issued a notification for no tenant evictions in case of non-payment of rents during the lockdown imposed to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of people are trying to make ends meet during these tough times, so it was a reprieve not having to pay the rent.
However, as usual, some people in our society love to exploit any situation, and that is what they did with the said notification. Despite having the measures to paying rents, some individuals deliberately stopped payments and manipulated the provincial government’s facility – in turn, affecting those who have rent payments as their only source of income.
To be honest, this is not only the public’s fault. The Punjab government should have foreseen this situation as it is very common in our society to exploit the facilities provided. Meanwhile, the actual deserving people suffer.
Now, the provincial authorities are seeking amendments so that only the deserving people can benefit from the notification for no tenant evictions. Let’s see how that turns out.