No public or private sector organization can work well without proper and formal bylaws that make it sustainable and force the public to avoid committing violations and crimes. But in Lahore, there is a state-owned agency that continues to work without the requisite laws. The Lahore Parking Company (LPC) has been operating without parking bylaws for about three years.

It was in August 2012 when the LPC became operational after being registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan under Section 32 of the Companies Ordinance 1984 as profit-oriented subsidiary of the City District Government of Lahore.

Since there were no laws or citations available at that time in PLGO-2001 related to imposition of fines on parking violators subject to gravity of offence, the company started operating under the relevant provisions of the rules/regulations concerning taxation (parking fee etc). However, after sometime it was direly felt that there should be exclusive parking bylaws under which the company could sustain through imposing and collection of fines from violators besides streamlining the growing parking issues.

Resultantly, a CDGL team, in consultation with LPC officials, prepared a draft of bylaws under which a number of violations and fines (from Rs200 to Rs5,000) were introduced.

The draft was put up to the CDGL’s administrator (DCO) during this year’s first quarter for a go-ahead and was sent onward to the local government department for final approval.

It was positively approved by the DCO who sent it to the department for the final approval. And to date, these bylaws are yet to be approved.

The parking violations continue in the absence of certain laws and those who are looking after such affairs are worried as how to deal with the situation.

According to officials, since the LPC could only charge parking fee under the PLGO-2001 and the existing amended version of the same, the approval of parking bylaws by amending the PLGO was a need of the hour.

“The CDGL had sent the final draft of parking bylaws to the department about seven months ago, but it is yet to be approved due to various legal hitches,” said Taseer Ahmad, the LPC managing director.

He clarified that there was no problem on the part of the local government department as the core issue was to first amend the PLGO and then incorporate new bylaws on parking violation into it.

A summary has reportedly been forwarded to the Punjab chief minister in this regard and as soon as it is approved the issue will be resolved, he added.

The Punjab government must pay attention towards approving parking bylaws and amending the existing laws in order to avoid growing issues emerging from parking violations.

Last week, an important meeting was held at the food wing of the CDGL. Its core objective was to intensify a drive against gutka being sold at scores of outlets in Lahore.

The gutka is a cheap source of addiction being used by a number of people in the Punjab capital. It is being smuggled from India. “The number of cancer patients is on the rise in Punjab. And a majority of them are those who are gutka addicted. Therefore, we want to eliminate the sale/purchase of gutka,” said a CDGL official.

He said the meeting had not only decided to intensify the drive against gutka but also to take up the issue of its smuggling from India with top officials concerned.

The official said the CDGL had seized a huge quantity of gutka from several outlets during the last 10 days.(khalidpak284@yahoo.com)

Published in Dawn, October 13th , 2015

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