LAHORE: The session on ‘Lahore under threat: from new development projects to old dilapidated neighbourhoods’ became more of a courtroom drama when two ace lawyers, Rafay Alam and Faisal Naqvi, put up arguments against and for the real estate growth of Lahore at ThinkFest on Saturday.

Rafay Alam, an environmental lawyer, said Lahore’s suburbs have turned into a haven for property dealers, thanks to the population explosion. With powerful government officials in command of all the utilities, private developers have continued to intrude on the land.

“From The Mall to Lake City, one can have a hassle-free, signal-free drive,” he said, citing an example of government resources being manipulated for elite housing schemes. “We can see similar examples in Islamabad and Karachi as well; the Malir Highway is being built not to benefit the indigenous localities, but Bahria Town.”

He further said two-thirds of the Lahore population lived in one-third of the city, creating a class-based gulf. His arguments then turned towards the Ravi Urban Development Authority (Ruda), which he said was being built to rehabilitate River Ravi, but at the end of the day, it would only be beneficial for developers.

“Not the best use of land resources at all,” he said, handing over the mic to Faisal Naqvi, who was not impressed with Alam’s “anti-urbanisation” approach. He said Lahore was growing and urbanising, both with a generic population growth and influx of people.

“Unchecked (or checked) sprawl necessitates modern transportation and other basic needs,” he said, adding that Lahore did not mature in terms of high density.

“If we need to go forward, we need to take care of the realities that Lahore is urbanising and a sort of dense population is needed, which should be planned; there is so much demand for housing, either the government should fulfil it or let the private developers do it.”

Expansion would happen, planned or unplanned, so Ruda should be judged on the set rules, as processes like land acquisition and development were happening under the rules.

Rafay Alam said the low-density sprawl of Lahore would require more land up to 2,000 sq km, which should be discouraged. The better solution was a city built on better density, he maintained.

Naqvi said it was hard to get high density now given the evolving housing culture. He said a two-kanal bungalow was as problematic as an eight-storey building, ensuring high density. The government should carry out large-scale, planed projects. He said the Ruda project would cater to both low- and high-density segments.

The discussion revolved around the need for and measures to rehabilitate the Ravi, upgrading Lahore’s water table, the role of government and private developers in city planning, among others.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2023