LDA directed to discourage commercialisation

LAHORE: The Punjab government has directed the LDA DG to increase, revise and amend commercialisation charges as a preventive measure to discourage trend of commercialisation.
Documents available with The News revealed that Punjab Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering Department secretary has written a letter to the LDA director general asking him to implement the decisions taken in a meeting of Standing Committee of the Cabinet on Legislative Business. This meeting was held on November 7, 2017 in which the issue of temporary commercialisation was discussed.
Sources in LDA said the secretary directed the DG to make amendments in Rule, 28 and 31 of LDA Land Use Rules, 2014. The sources said the meeting raised serious objections over the increasing trend of commercialisation across the city and held the LDA’s temporary commercialisation policy responsible for the mess.
The meeting directed the DG to increase/revise/amend commercialisation charges as a preventive measure to discourage the trend of commercialisation. Rule 28 of LDA Land Use Rules deals with conversion, commercialisation and permissibility fee while rule 31 deals with temporary commercialisation.
Under the rule 31, the authority may allow temporary commercialisation of land or property in the area, for a period up to ten years. Temporary commercialisation was allowed on an annual basis while the owner needs to get an NOC from the neighbours. However, in many cases, owners of different properties, especially on main roads bribed the LDA officers and get permission for temporary commercialisation, the sources said.
They further said as per rules temporary commercialisation shall not be allowed in the areas permitted for commercialisation in the master plan, re-classified areas, areas permitted for commercial use and several roads mentioned in list-A.
However, a senior official in LDA, said the decision, if implemented may result in massive unemployment, besides raising illegal commercialisation. He said over 30 per cent of the city’s commercial activities are going under temporary permissions such as private offices, schools, clinics, parlors, small shops in residential localities. He added LDA was generating huge revenue from this, which was being spent on upgrading of the city roads as well as on other infrastructural development schemes.
When contacted, Town Planner Chief didn’t give any reply to the call and SMS sent to him on the issue.