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LDA inefficiency costing billions
YASIR HABIB KHAN
The Lahore Development Authority is fast becoming a white elephant
in the eyes of Punjab government. It is all due to rampant
mismanagement, growing financial inefficiencies, inordinate delay in
the implementation of commercialization policy, strengthening racket
between LDA?s employees and land grabber mafia and surfacing
scandals of illegal private housing schemes besides bogus files of
plots in LDA?s own approved housing schemes.
Since no remedial measures have been taken to put the things in
order, the LDA created with an aim to rebuild Lahore as modern city
has failed in fulfilling its original commitments to make the city
the most livable mega city of the South Asian Region by 2010 and one
of 30 leading educational, cultural, commercial, industrial and
information technology hub of the world by 2020.
Believing the hard facts that LDA is losing its usefulness and
worth, Punjab government has set in motion a process of mitigating
its powers with regards to approving and monitoring the construction
of commercial and residential buildings in the city. The Punjab
government plans to abolish LDA? wing that permits different kind of
construction. It has decided to constitute a separate Lahore
Building Control Authority on the pattern of Karachi Building
Control Authority to enforce building bylaws in true letter and
spirit.
Recently a study report prepared by none other than LDA itself
claimed that authority had developed management and financial
inefficiencies, which had not only affected its institutional
capacity but also weakened its financial position to undertake
development initiatives and infrastructure projects.
The study report was conducted on the directives of Chief Secretary
Punjab Javed Mehmood with the joint efforts of then Chief Minister?s
Inspection Team Punjab Mazhar Ali Khan, Chief Inspector of Treasures
& Accounts, Finance Department Muhammad Zubair and Inspector of
Treasuries & Accounts, Finance Department Rafiq Ahmed. Former LDA DG
Irfan Ali, LDA Additional DG Ahmed Ghazali and Director Finance
Zaheer Akhtar Rana assisted in this regard.
The study report claimed the authority badly failed to evolve
policies and programmes relating to the improvement of housing
schemes, industrial development, traffic, transportation, health,
education, water supply, sewerage, drainage and solid waste
disposal.
The study revealed that LDA income is subsiding due to visible
dearth of financial discipline in the areas of land acquisition,
execution of development schemes and management of future
liabilities. LDA was facing several challenges especially in the
field of human resources for improved service delivery and discharge
of its vital functions, the report said.
The report further disclosed that aggressive role of the authority
had been impaired due to take-over of building controls by the city
district government under devolution plan besides conflicts in LDA
Act and PLGO, 2001.
The report said the authority had run into overall budgetary deficit
of over Rs2.5 billion. LDA income was Rs 2,866.603 million against
its expenditure of Rs 5,542.394 million in 2007-08 showing deficit
of Rs 2,675.791 million. Deficit started with Rs 915.791 million in
2005-06, Rs 1,534.210 million in 2006-07 and reached at Rs 2,675.791
million in 2007-08, it said.
Non-development expenditure showed a rising trend over the
development expenditure. LDA non-development expenditure stood at Rs
1,324.291 million against development expenditure at Rs 1,320.896
million in 2007-08.
Sources said that LDA faced great decline in revenue generation due
to growing default in the head of commercialization fee that stood
at Rs. 600 million in one year. The downward trend further declined
after the ban on commercialization that remained for two years. Now,
though ban has been lifted but despite commercialization policy has
been notified, it is yet to be implemented, as Chief Minister Punjab
Shahbaz Sharif could not make it formal approval.
Land mafia is on the rampage in the provincial metropolis, but LDA
remained unmoved and absolutely uninterested in taking any action
against them. Over the last three-and-a-half years, 35 illegal
housing schemes have been launched in the city and after looting
billions of rupees from thousands of people, sponsors of these
schemes have simply vanished in the air. Provincial Housing
Department and Lahore Development Authority though declared these
schemes illegal, have failed to take any appropriate action. The
housing schemes declared illegal by the LDA are located in different
areas of the city like Ferozepur Road, G.T. Road, Raiwind Road,
Multan Road and Lahore Canal. And these include, Anwar Housing
Scheme, Faisal Garden, Green Cap Housing Scheme, Doctors Town, Al-
Quds Housing Scheme, Noor Garden Phase-II, Galaxy Park, Rehman Town,
Rehman Homes, Malika homes, Public Garden, Paradise Point,
Gulshan-e-Haider Phase-I, Ali Garden, Jilani Park, Jilani Homes,
Badar Block, Nishtar Park, Taj Bagh, Gulshan-e-Dawad, Shalimar
Housing Scheme, Dawad Town, Hajveri Town, Lahore Medical housing
Scheme, Global Village Scheme, Asif Colony, Shama Park, Gul Sher
Town, Rizwan Garden, Sami Town, New Canal Park, Aamir Town, Canal
Point and Canal Bank Scheme.
The LDA also failed to demolish 45 high-rising buildings and
partially demolish 150 others constructed against the building
by-laws in the city. There are about 400 to 500 high-rise buildings
constructed in sheer violation of building by-laws. So far around
417 have been identified and examined by authority concerned.
According to list prepared by LDA, 45 illegal high rising buildings
including 15 at Model Town Link Road, 5 in Gulberg, 6 in PIA Housing
Society, 2 in Johar Town, 4 in Shah Alam, 3 in Peco road controlled
area and 2 are situated in Allama Iqbal Town are demolishable. The
famous among them are Al-Hafeez Plazas, China Market, Akram Complex,
Telenor office, Tariq Complex, Booni Mall, Zainab Tower, New Liberty
Tower, Al-Rehman Medical Complex, Khan Arcade, Khan Shopping Centre
and Raabi Center. While, those 150 illegal high rising plazas, which
would be partially demolished in Gulberg included Hemain Tower,
Hassan Town, Ijaz Center, Macca Tower, Jeff Hight, Mega Tower,
Ashrafi Height, Rehman Tower, Zarina Tower, Lak Hotel, Hotel
Building, Variety Book Shop, Leads Centre, Askari bank, S.S house,
and the famous Saddiqe Trade Centre. Others illegal high rising
plazas included 75 in Gulshan-e-Ravi Scheme, 30 in Johar Town, 12 in
PIA housing Society, 3 each in Samag Berg, Garden Town, Samanabad
and one each in Faisal Town, New Garden Town and LDA controlled
area.
However, Punjab government has again planned to demolish 169 those
building constructed in sheer violation of building bylaws in the
city after orders of a full bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
headed by Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday in a case of illegally
constructed high-rise buildings in the City in 18 May, 2009.
The Nation:Splus Report:May 30,2009
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