Katchi abadis: LDA makes allowances for small plot owners

Restrictions on uncovered area eased for land up to 5 marlas.

LAHORE: Houses built on plots in katchi abadis, approved by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), are now allowed a larger covered area as compared to other housing schemes.

The decision was taken in the governing body meeting of the LDA chaired by the district coordination officer (DCO) and the authority chairman, Ahad Khan Cheema, on Wednesday.

Dwelling units up to three marlas will be allowed to cover 80 per cent of the area while three to five marla houses will be allowed to cover 70 per cent of the area. The land owners have also been given the option to leave the mandatory uncovered area anywhere in the plot. Standard LDA regulations require that a 10-foot strip be left uncovered from the front, 7-foot from the back and 5-foot strips on each side.

However, building regulations will remain unchanged for units built on more than five marlas.

The building plan approval fee for units up to three marlas was set at Rs500 and for three to five marla units at Rs1,000. It was also decided that plans for construction as well as those for any addition and alteration will be sanctioned only for those units that have executed sale deeds. The authority also approved, in principle, the Ferozepur Road improvement project, which will cover the stretch from Qartaba Chowk to Khaira Distributory, Chungi Amer Sidhu. A proposal for installing gantry signs (warning signs displaying height restriction), at underpasses on the Canal Road – from Dharampura to Thokar Niaz Baig – was also approved. The departments of Planning and Development and Finance will now prepare estimate the cost of both the projects.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2011.