The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) collected more than Rs 2.7 billion in commercialisation fees in 2016, of which Rs 2.35 billion was collected for permanent commercialisation, and Rs 350 million for annual/temporary commercialization.
Talking to the APP, LDA Director General (DG) Zahid Akhtar Zaman said that the authority completed various projects of public interest during the year 2016, besides adopting initiatives to facilitate the public.
The DG said that the directors of all directorates were asked to ensure their presence at the One Window Cell of the LDA for one hour, 11 am to 12 noon, daily. They personally heard the issues of people pertaining to their respective directorates and took all possible measures for the redressal of their complaints.
To a query, he said that the LDA’s One Window Cell received a total of 61,482 applications during 2016 and out of those as many as 56,779 were disposed of. He said that on average 190 applications were processed daily out of the average 206 applications received daily, making for a daily processing rate of 92%.
“9342 applications for the issuance of no objection certificates (N.O.C) and transfer letters were processed out of 10051 applications received,” the DG said. “Besides executing more than half of the civil work on Pakistan’s first-ever mass transit project, the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT), the LDA also completed a number of other public projects.“
Responding to a query on the amendment of the Master Plan for Lahore Division 2016, he said that it had been approved for Lahore, Sheikhupura, Nankana and Kasur districts in July 2016, adding that a number of pending cases regarding the approval of private housing schemes and land sub-divisions would now be processed. “Previously there was no policy document in many tehsil/towns of these districts and this amendment will encourage planned development,” Zaman said.
A sum of Rs 3.21 billion was spent on the improvement of road networks, and a flyover was constructed at Kahna railway crossing at a cost of Rs 3 billion under a public-private partnership mode on BOT basis. The director general said that this will serve as a trendsetter for more projects under such arrangements.
A project worth Rs 5.12 billion is ongoing for widening the Canal Road from Thokar Niaz Baig to Doctor’s Hospital and from Mall Road Underpass to Harbanspura Interchange by six meters, along with the construction of Chaubucha underpass at a length of 1.3 km.
The construction of a four-lane dual carriageway in Pakistan Kidney and Liver Transplant Institute, Lahore was carried out at a cost of Rs. 554.95 million.
The construction of an underpass at the railway crossing near Gurrumanghat Road is also making progress with an estimated cost of Rs 224 million.
About the Traffic Engineering and Transportation Planning Agency (TEPA), the LDA DG said that it had completed more than 53 per cent work on the construction of a flyover at Katch Jail Road in Kot Lakhpat Area for connecting Moulana Shaukat Ali Road to Ferozepur Road and that the project will cost one billion rupees.
Regarding strict operations against illegal constructions, he said that the Planning Wing of the LDA carried out 74 operations against illegal housing schemes in the city during 2016, adding that it served notices to 182 housing schemes for slow pace of execution of development works, besides sealing offices of 35 schemes for their failure in executing transfer of mortgaged deeds of public utility plots in favour of LDA.
He said that demolition operations against illegal constructions and violations of building by-laws were also carried out in 45 housing schemes.
Regarding LDA City, Zahid Zaman said that planning and designing of the LDA City scheme were under process which will be completed by March 2017, adding that preliminary planning permission had been granted to seven housing schemes while technical approval had been given to four housing societies.
Giving details on the Security Featured Documents Cell of LDA, he said that the cell had issued a total 1045 documents of 25 types during 2016, including allocation letters, completion certificates, physical possession, entitlement performas, exchange letters, exemption letters, legal heirs, ownership requisitions, permissions to mortgage (PTM), physical possession, possession orders, qabza patwari, sanction plans, and transfer letters.