LAHORE, June 4: Participants in a meeting unanimously agreed on Monday to conduct an extensive debate on the existing laws for regulating the affairs of private housing schemes and delegate necessary powers to the Lahore Development Authority for taking action against the schemes’ developers involved in illegal practices.

The meeting was held here at the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) office for the purpose to formulate recommendations for introducing amendments to LDA Act-1975 by keeping in view the current needs.

MNAs Khwaja Saad Rafique and Anusha Rehman, Housing Secretary Suhail Aamir, District Coordination Officer Noorul Amin Mengal, LDA Director General Ahad Khan Cheema, ADG (LDA Headquarters) Ms Mariam Kayani, ADG (Housing) Irfan Bhatti, Chief Metropolitan Planner Waseem Ahmed Khan and other officers concerned attended the meeting.

The participants sought an effective legislation against the guilty private housing schemes’ owners/developers in order to protect rights of those purchasing plots in the schemes being developed without getting approval of the LDA. Such developers were also involved in selling those plots that were not originally included in the approved scheme plan or marketing the plots mortgaged already with LDA as guarantee of completing development works, they said.

The meeting recommended that the pattern relating to exemption of plots to the land owners (who surrender their land before the authorities concerned for developing towns/schemes on a huge piece of land) under the Land Acquisition Act-1973 should be implemented with true letter and spirit while giving approval to all new public and private housing schemes to avoid any dispute between the developers and land owners.

The participants also agreed to give task for implementing the Lahore’s Master Plan to single authority, instead of different government departments, with a view to ensuring planned and coherent development of all the localities at the provincial metropolis.

The meeting also underlined the need for coordinated development of Lahore and its adjacent districts for providing housing and other basic facilities to the residents of these areas for curbing the trend of migration to Lahore. The meeting recommended review of a proposal for expanding the jurisdiction of Lahore Development Authority to other areas.

AUCTION: Open auction for the parking fee contract at D-Point car parking plaza and Shah Alam Market will be held on June 21 at 10am at LDA Community Centre (New Muslim Town).

According to a handout, interested parties are required to deposit Rs1.5 million as earnest money before the start of auction proceedings. The duration of the contract will be for two years, it said. — Staff Reporter