FAISALABAD: The Faisalabad Development Authority (FDA) has invited proposals and objections to the master plan of the district from the public while the officials are not sharing the plan with the media and other stakeholders.

The master plan envisages industrial, commercial, economic, agricultural development of the city besides establishment of roads network, transportation, energy, sanitation, waste management, landscaping and other infrastructure by devising principles for the use of land.

On Monday, the FDA issued a handout urging people to join the session with their written suggestions at the FDA complex on Aug 17 to finalise the Faisalabad Master Plan 2021-2041. Talking to Dawn, human rights activist Hammad Ahmed said after reading a handout regarding invitation of proposals for the master plan, he approached the FDA officials to get a copy so that after reading it he could submit his suggestions. He said despite repeated contacts the FDA did not provide him with a copy of the plan.

He said how people would submit proposals without reading anything. He said earlier a 20-year plan titled “Faisalabad Peri Urban Structure Plan 2035” had been prepared and enforced across the district.

The plan had been approved in 2014 in a meeting chaired by then commissioner Naseem Nawaz and notified in 2015. Noorul Ameen Mengal was the district coordination officer of Faisalabad at that time.

Javeed Bhatti, an office-bearer of the town developers association, told this correspondent that they were not consulted so far regarding the plan. He said until now he had no knowledge about the session for the final approval of the plan.

Another town developer requesting anonymity told this correspondent that it was surprising for him to know that the FDA had invited public objections and suggestions on the plan. He said none of the FDA officials had contacted him despite knowing that he was a major town developer of the city with investment of billions of rupees here.

He said last time the FDA officials had also ‘shocked’ the developers when they were preparing the Peri Urban Plan which had also been enforced without ground work.

A trader said when the FDA promulgated the Peri Urban Plan, they did not discuss it with stakeholders and this time the same practice had been repeated. He said in the past a committee had been formed by the FDA to look into the objections raised by the developers [against the Peri Urban Plan]. And this time, he said nothing had been done so far.

The FDA spokesman was also contacted on Tuesday for a copy of the proposed plan to which he promised but did not turn up till filing of the report on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2021