LAHORE, Feb 26: The governing body of the Lahore Development Authority on Thursday approved 40 per cent increase in water tariff. Its effect on monthly bills will be around 80 per cent because consumers have to pay sewerage charges equal to 70 per cent of water charges and the sanitation fee equal to 30 per cent.

The decision, taken at a meeting presided over by district Nazim Mian Amer to take Water and Sanitation Agency out of financial crisis, will be enforced after the approval of the Lahore District Council which is scheduled to meet next week.

Wasa sought increase in tariff on the ground that its annual electricity bill had increased by Rs750 million and other expenses by Rs470 million since the last revision in tariff in 1988. It, however, proposed reduction in the new sewer connection fee from Rs4,500 to Rs500 and advance water supply bill for new connections from Rs4,500 to Rs300.

The governing body also decided to ensure strict compliance of the building bylaws on fire control arrangements in commercial plazas and encourage development of a 600-acre private housing scheme at Harbanspura.

The Nazim said site plans of multi-storey plazas should not be approved without fire control provisions. Their construction should be stopped in case of failure of the builders to provide proper fire control system.

The body approved incentives for encouraging development of housing schemes in the private sector. The developers were allowed to reserve 2 per cent area of the schemes for public utility services instead of 1 per cent and transfer half of it to the LDA.

They were also allowed to commercialize 5 per cent of the area instead of 2 per cent and join plots for construction of buildings. They were also allowed to build mosques after DCO's approval. Construction of houses on the plots mortgaged with the LDA was also allowed.

It sanctioned Rs4.61 billion for land acquisition, building of roads and provision of electricity, gas and water and sewerage facilities in the LDA Avenue Housing Scheme.

The meeting was also attended by town Nazims Khwaja Ahmad Hassaan, Maj Rafiq Hasrat (retired) and Chaudhry Ashraf, LDA director general, Wasa managing director, DCO, TEPA chief engineer and officials of the local government, housing and finance departments.

Stray dogs: Four squads were on Thursday constituted for the extermination of stray dogs in the city district under the instructions of acting district Nazim Farooq Amjad Mir.

The Naib Nazim said the squads comprising 15 to 20 men each would be responsible for extermination of stray dogs from the city as well as 100 city district villages. He directed the dumping of the carcasses outside the city limits.