Commercial buildings continue to encroach on setback area

LAHORE: Use of setback area by big stores and plazas other than parking is a common sight in the provincial metropolis as Lahore Development Authority (LDA) seems spineless in removing these “paid encroachments” for reasons best known to the authorities.

It is learnt that when it comes to general encroachments, the city authorities, including LDA and the city administration adopts a very strict and active attitude against the powerless vendors and shopkeepers but when it comes to encroachment by big wings, the authorities don’t show any power and prefer to stay indifferent and silent.

The best example of the fact is placement of containers, kiosks, stalls, generators and other structures outside big marts, grocery stores, malls and other buildings in the 30 feet designated set back area on monthly heavy rent in the localities of Johar Town, Allama Iqbal Town, Gulberg, Garden Town, Muslim Town, Wapda Town and many other private housing societies.

Placement of these containers, kiosks, stalls, generators and other structures resulted in traffic jams because people coming to the markets didn’t find a place to park their vehicles.Besides this, many motorists have no option other than to park their vehicles on the roads which create hurdles in the traffic flow.

According to the Lahore Development Authority’s building rules, every commercial building has to leave 30 feet setback area for parking and it can’t be used for any other purpose even for placing power generators.A senior LDA official said use of the setback area for commercial purposes was completely illegal and LDA could demolish any structure built temporary or permanent in that area.

However, permanent presence of hundreds of thousands of such “paid encroachments” on city roads especially outside commercial centres and other important places raised a serious question mark over the performance of LDA’s Town Planning Wing as well as on the role of the LDA director general who daily travels the city roads but ignores this massive illegal activity.

The citizens said that placing containers, kiosks and other structures outside shops in busy commercial centres was astonishing. They said if every shop started following this trend, where the people would park their vehicles?

They said Lahore Development Authority, City District Government Lahore and nine TMAs were responsible for removing encroachments in their respective areas but none of them had succeeded to make their areas according to their tall claims of encroachment free zones.

The encroachments outside commercial centres and on walkways and footpaths deny the right of movement to the pedestrians besides causing traffic congestion as visitors are forced to park their vehicles on the roads.

An owner of a food point constructed outside a grocery store in the Johar Town area said that he was paying Rs 40,000 per month as rent to the store owner while he also alleged that he used to grease the palm of Lahore Development Authority officials for not removing the kiosk.

There are dozens of fruit sellers, shwarma sellers and burger sellers, etc, operating on a road in G-I market of Johar Town and all of them claimed they were paying from Rs15,000 to Rs18,000 to the shop owners outside which they were operating.

Those who are not operating outside any shop are allegedly paying “monthly rent” to some “hidden forces” within the authorities.Citizens have asked the chief minister to take strict action against the encroachments and remove them immediately.

They said the authorities should make a day-to-day monitoring system and SOPs should be devised to stop reemergence of the removed encroachments.A dedicated complaint cell also be established where residents can lodge their complaints against encroachments with the assurance that action would be taken, they suggested.

On the other hand, the scribe sent the pictures of the encroachments to Lahore Development Authority Director General Amna Imran Khan on her cell and asked questions about these “paid encroachments” but she didn’t reply.

The scribe also contacted former Town Planning Director Azhar Kambouh, who was in-charge of the Johar Town area earlier and presently is serving as chief metropolitan planner, but he too didn’t reply to the queries.

However, an Lahore Development Authority spokesperson said that use of the setback area was totally illegal and Lahore Development Authority took action against all such encroachments in routine. He said strict action would be taken against those using the setback area for commercial purposes.