LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has ruled that the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) lawfully acquires ownership of amenity sites transferred by private housing schemes, but cannot treat such land as ordinary commercial property.

Justice Raheel Kamran, simultaneously directed the LDA to dispose of a school amenity site in a cooperative housing society within three months to ensure its intended public use.

The judge announced the judgment, disposing of a petition filed by Agrics Cooperative Housing Society Limited, which had challenged the LDA’s authority to take possession of public amenity sites.

It also assailed the validity of Section 13(6) of the Lahore Development Authority Act, 1975, Rule 24 of the LDA Private Housing Schemes Rules, 2014, and the authority’s refusal to approve the society’s building plan for a school.

The society argued that as a cooperative society registered under the Cooperative Societies Act, 1925, it remained governed exclusively by that law and that the LDA functioned merely as a regulator, without acquiring proprietary rights of amenity sites.

It further contended that the transfer clause contained in the registered mortgage deed executed in 1990 and the subsequent statutory provisions were unconstitutional and violated fundamental rights.

The society complained that the LDA had been retaining the ownership of a school plot for over 30 years without allotting or developing it, leaving residents without the educational facility promised under the approved housing scheme.

Justice Kamran held that the society had voluntarily executed the registered mortgage deed containing the transfer clause and secured final approval of its housing scheme on that basis.

Having enjoyed the benefits of the arrangement for more than three decades, the society could not now question the validity of the transfer, he added.

The judge also rejected the petitioner’s challenge to the retrospective application of Section 13(6) of the LDA Act, holding that the society’s obligation to transfer amenity sites arose from the regulatory framework and contractual arrangement that existed even before the 2013 amendment.

Justice Kamran further held that although title validly vests in the LDA, the authority cannot treat such amenity plots as an unrestricted commercial asset.

The judge observed that sites reserved for schools, hospitals, mosques, parks and other civic amenities remain impressed with a public purpose and that the LDA holds them under the doctrine of public trust.

“Their disposal must therefore remain consistent with the approved layout plan, statutory framework and the public purpose for which the land was originally reserved,” the judge maintained.

Citing a Supreme Court judgment, the judge noted that land reserved for parks, playgrounds and other public amenities cannot lawfully be allotted to private persons for commercial exploitation.

However, the judge clarified that the LDA is competent to transfer, lease or otherwise deal with amenity sites, provided such action conforms to the law and preserves their intended public use.

The judge observed that while existing regulations prescribe construction timelines after an amenity site is allotted or leased, they do not fix any time frame within which the LDA itself must dispose of such sites.

The judge held that discretionary powers vested in public authorities cannot be exercised indefinitely and must be exercised fairly, reasonably, in good faith and within a reasonable time.

He asserted that prolonged administrative inaction undermines the constitutional rights of residents to education, dignity and a healthy environment guaranteed under the Constitution.

Finding that the school amenity site in the petitioner society remained unused for more than three decades, Justice Kamran directed the LDA to ensure its disposal within three months through auction, allotment or lease, strictly in accordance with the law, so the reserved public facility can finally be established.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2026