ISLAMABAD: The caretaker government on Wednesday sought provinces’ support in finalising master plans and regulations that stop the conversion of agricultural lands for housing and industrial cities.

“There is a dire need of the hour to preserve agricultural land keeping in view the challenges being faced by the country,” Minister for Planning and Development Sami Saeed told an inter-provincial coordination committee on ‘Building Consensus for Regulating the Conversion of Agricultural Land to Housing Societies in Pakistan’.

All the provinces, however, reported back that they had the master plans in place and strict regulations that prohibit the use of agricultural lands for housing societies and industrial & commercial activities, but some real estate authorities, a few of them even run under institutional cover and others operating across the provinces, were too powerful to be deterred by weak government departments. Therefore, the problem pertained to the implementation of regulations across the country.

The provincial representatives were asked to submit their written recommendations and challenges within a week as the committee would not meet again, but its comprehensive report along with suggestions for the way forward would be compiled and submitted to the caretaker prime minister within a fortnight.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2023