LAHORE: The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) has approved the free-of-cost allotment of 57 kanals, situated adjacent (old fruit & vegetable market) to the Arfa Karim Tower to the Special Healthcare and Medical Education Department for the construction of a 100-bed hospital, Dawn has learnt.

“A couple of years ago, the authority approved the allotment of the entire land of the vegetable market measuring 122 kanals for over Rs2 billion,” an official said.

“The department failed to pay the amount to the LDA. The extension was also given during which the department pledged to pay within the stipulated time. The land was also handed over to the department, but it failed to pay the amount again. Later, the chief minister and the senior officials decided to allot 57 kanals free of cost.”

The fruit & vegetable market was established in 1978. In 2011, the LDA shifted the market from Kot Lakhpat to Gajjumata. The total land, which couldn’t be purchased through negotiation was acquired in 2017 at the rate of Rs2.95 million per marla, thus total cost of the land came to Rs8.82 billion.

Various public and private organisations showed interest in procuring the land.

The LDA governing body at its meeting in August 2021 approved the handing over of the land to the department, subject to depositing of Rs2.033bn before Feb 1, 2022. Since the issuance of allotment was mandatory before the physical possession, the case was submitted to the LDA for issuance of the allotment letter to the department, subject to confirmation/ratification by the LDA governing body after depositing of Rs2.033bn, approval of the building plan from the building control authority along with allied NOCs from the relevant departments and restriction of the use of land for the purpose of the hospital alone and if there is any amendment required in the plan (use of land for other purposes), it should be done by the respective authority.

But the department later failed to pay the cost of land and subsequently the allotment was cancelled on June 17, 2022.

According to the minutes of the recent LDA governing body meeting, then-chief minister Parvez Elahi on September 19, 2022, directed the LDA to rationalize the land requirement for the hospital through vertical construction in consultation with the health department.

The LDA has divided the land into three parts: one for the hospital, another for LDA (for commercial use) and the third for the IT tower construction.

Up to 57 kanals and 15 marlas were allocated to the hospital, 15 kanals for the IT tower and 36 kanals for the LDA.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2023