‘Unplanned’ Master Plan set to pose serious challenges

The city’s Master Plan, involving the entire network of Lahore is marred with serious flaws which have been ignored and unchecked by the authorities,
Pakistan Today has learnt.
One of the biggest flaws of the Master Plan, which was developed by National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) at the cost of Rs 15 million, is that there was no Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) conducted before the plan was put into effect. Experts said that SEA was imporant at the initial stages of developing such a mammoth plan to give the authorities a better idea of how to formulate policies, plans and programmes and to assess their effectiveness and sustainability. Another serious flaw in the Master Plan is the absence of dumping sites.
In June 2008, NESPAK had prepared Punjab Sustainable Development Strategy to attain the goals outlined in the National Conservation Strategy of Pakistan 1992, National Environmental Policy and National Environmental Plan.
However, no environmental approval was sought for the strategy and it was found that there were no existing laws that cover such proposals.
Taking to the Pakistan Today, experts from the Punjab University said that that the provincial metropolitan had been expanding rapidly between Multan Road and Ferozepur Road, adding that the city was expected to expand by 40 kilometres. They believed that the expansion in the city would hinder movement in and out of the metropolitan.
Experts further said that the Lahore Development Authority was planning the trunk roads with a maximum of 200 feet width to accommodate the increasing flow of traffic in and out of the city. However, they said, construction on the roads was being done without giving a thought to environmental degradation. Hundreds of trees had been cut down to allow for the construction of bigger roads, they maintained. The cutting down of trees to accommodate an ever-expanding Lahore also highlighted the fact that the government had not planned for any green buffer zones. At the same time, the experts maintained that there was no treatment plan for the waste water of the city. The experts also highlighted the fact that factories were being installed in commercial and residential areas, pointing to the lack of proper planning in the city since 1980s.
Experts also said that there was nothing wrong with the plan itself. Instead, they said, it was the poor implementation of the plan that had led to complex localities, with a mix of residential and commercial areas.
It was also revealed that all previous plans had not been developed with a view to preserve the environment. The indigenous trees have been replaced with ornamental and low-height trees, leading to migration of various bird species.
On the condition of anonymity an official of NESPAK told Pakistan Today that “The map was developed through remote sensing and no physical work was done to research feasibility of the project.” The official added that the implementation of the Master Plan was “very” poor.
“Mughal Park Shahdra is an industrial area as per the Master Plan of 1970 – 2004 but physically it has been developed as a residential area,” he said.
The official further said that that all previous masters plans had been abandoned because of a weak enforcement mechanism.