Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Commercialisation Directorate on Monday conducted an operation and sealed at least 30 showrooms for failing to pay commercialization fee.
Furthermore, LDA decided to register criminal cases against the owners and tenants who would try enter the sealed showrooms by breaking locks.
LDA sources said that the owners and occupants of the properties had repeatedly been served notices for depositing the commercialisation fee and had been granted a number of extensions in the time for payment as well. For facilitating the calculation of the fee to be paid for commercialisation of these properties, the LDA staff also measured the area of the properties which were being used for commercial activities.
Moreover, LDA said that permission for temporary/annual commercialisation had been ceased on 46 declared roads as well as on roads of re-classification area of Gulberg Scheme from 31 December 2012.
LDA sources said that owners and occupants of these properties had been served notices for getting these properties permanently commercialised without delay by paying the requisite fee.
They had been advised to apply for permanent commercialisation of their properties within seven days, failing which their properties would be sealed without further notices. Furthermore, LDA Director General Ahad Khan Cheema dismissed two officials on account of their involvement in preparation of a bogus property file of Mustafa Town, forging exemption and illegal transfering of plots in the scheme.
The dismissed officials include Staff Officer Muhammad Anwar and Senior Accountant Khalid Iqbal.
They will be tried under Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act 2006 and have been directed to submit their reply to this show cause within seven days failing which it shall be presumed that they had no defence to offer.
