LDA seeking fees on de-notified properties

LDA Director General issued notification stating jurisdiction over several areas was being handed to city government.

LAHORE:

The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) has been collecting commercialisation fees from areas no longer under its administrative control, leading to some people being charged twice.

On November 24, 2010, then LDA Director General Omer Rasul issued a notification stating that jurisdiction over several areas was being handed to the city government, under Section 14 of the LDA Act of 1975.

But the LDA is still collecting fees from areas on both sides of Wahdat Colony Road, starting from Pilot School to the Nadeem Shaheed Road crossing.

Dr Aftab Ahmed of Neelam Block, Allama Iqbal Town, told APP that his property had been sealed by the LDA Recovery Department in December 2011 for not paying the annual commercialisation fee, but unsealed after recovery of about half a million rupees.

He said the city government had served him a notice to pay the commercialisation fee against the property last month. He said when he complained that he had already paid the LDA, he was shown the notification from November 2010. He said he had asked the LDA to return the money he had paid them so he could pay the city government. Enforcement Inspector Muhammad Azam of the city government said that the LDA had no authority over the areas of Poonch Road starting from Islamia Park to Pakki Thatti, or Wahdat Colony Road, but was still collecting the fee.

An LDA official said that the authority’s enforcement staff were likely unaware of the November 2010 notification and he was not sure whether the money could be reimbursed. LDA Recovery Director Bushra could not be reached for comments.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2012.