LAHORE: As part of reforms within the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), the record of 75,000 properties across various housing schemes has been sifted, with further updates planned.

Simultaneously, the LDA has initiated mapping to identify business premises operating illegally.

LDA Director General Tahir Farooq told Dawn on Saturday special teams had been tasked with sifting through the records of housing schemes, including Johar Town, Garden Town, Mustafa Town, Muslim Town, Gulberg, Gujjarpura, Gulshan Ravi and Township.

So far, records of 75,000 properties have been verified and the files of these properties are being uploaded on LDA’s website to assist the public in verifying property details before making purchases.

The LDA has also developed an internal application to map illegal commercial premises throughout the city. “We’ve identified 5,174 illegal commercial buildings, including shops, and these will soon receive notices demanding heavy fines along with the payment of commercialisation fees,” said Mr Farooq. This initiative is expected to curb unauthorised commercial activities.

He also mentioned improvements in the approval process for building plans. So far, the town planning wing has approved 600 building maps through its online platform. The new system has reduced the processing time for property transactions, which previously took up to three months, to just 48 hours for sifted properties.

He said the LDA was implementing reforms across multiple departments to streamline operations.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2024