LAHORE, Aug 7: All three Lahore MNAs of the PML-N, appreciative of some good works done by the government, said on Saturday much more was required to be done to solve the problems of the city.

Talking to Dawn, Khwaja Saad Rafiq, Pervaiz Malik and Sardar Ayaz Sadiq pointed out a number of neglected areas requiring immediate attention or, they feared, the situation would get worse with the passage of time.

They proposed that instead of expanding the city towards border area, new housing schemes should be launched across the Ravi. Planners, they said, should give a serious thought to the idea.

Khwaja Saad was of the view that encroachments were the most serious problem of the city against which an effective campaign should be launched.

Pollution, he said, was another serious problem which could be grappled only with determined efforts.

Mr Rafiq said the walled city, which was Lahore's heritage, was not being given due importance because of which it was crumbling. Multi-storey commercial plazas were being built without proper planning. A 'plaza mafia', he alleged, was emerging which, if not checked, would play havoc with the walled city.

He proposed that a cell should be set up to work out a plan to preserve buildings of historical importance.

According to him, the civil defence was non-existent because of which it would be extremely difficult for the government to deal with any unforeseen situation.

He said implementation of the plans prepared by former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif could change the face of the city of some seven million people. He demanded that a flyover be built from Niazi Chowk to district courts, at least 1,000 more buses should be brought on roads to facilitate the commuters. He said there was also a dire need for a Ravi lake.

Mr Rafiq said Wasa should be activated so that the city roads did not convert into 'canals' during the rainy season.

He said conditions in Johar Town, Iqbal Town, Sabzazar and Mustafa Town were simply deplorable. Development charges paid by the buyers had been utilized to clear salaries of LDA staff and the people were still waiting for the day when they would get the facilities they had already paid for.He said the government must take notice of the falling water level, growing pollution, restrictions imposed by the DHA on the residents of the nearby villages and the reported proposal to set up a Rangers Cooperative Housing Society.

Mr Malik and Mr Sadiq said the condition of the entire city was very bad and still more regrettable was the fact that the government had not even consulted the opposition legislators to set the situation right. At present, they complained, opposition MPs had just no role to play in the development process.

They said even clean drinking water was not available in many areas of the city as sewage was mixed with water at some places.

Traffic jams, they said, were being caused by the wrong policies of the government. Parts of busy roads were being used as parking stands, which was an illegal activity. Though, they said, it would bring some revenue to the government, it was causing inconvenience to thousands of people.

Citing the example of the road between Hafeez Centre and Pace, they said the parking stand allowed there was illegal.

Mr Malik said the planning procedure was flawed. Once a road was completed, departments would immediately come to dig it for provision of gas or water connections. Had the LDA, TEPA, SNGPL and other departments coordinated with one another, such situation could have been averted.

According to him, Wapda was also not playing its role properly. Electricity cables at some places were so low that anybody could touch them and get electrocuted.

The PML-N leaders said the ring road and mass transit project planned during Shahbaz Sharif's period should be implemented without delay.

According to them, development funds for opposition lawmakers were stopped immediately after the resignation of Zafarullah Jamali as prime minister. As a result, work on several approved projects had come to a halt.

They said Lahore was being developed by the Sharifs who had planned a number of projects for it. But the situation changed after the overthrow of their government. At present, they alleged, most functions of the city district government were being performed by the provincial government, which was against the spirit of the law.

The situation for opposition parties was not good either. Coordinators were calling the shots in union councils where the opposition Nazim had been elected, Mr Malik said.

Mr Sadiq said the Sharifs had rid the country of the land grabbers.

He said the biggest disservice of the present rulers was that they had weakened the institutions.

He said Shahbaz Sharif as chief minister had arranged financial resources for a number of projects to be launched in the city. But, he regretted, most of those projects had been shelved.

He praised the electorate who supported the PML-N despite the fact that the party was in opposition and was unable to do much to solve their problems.