LDA needs to be restructured to ensure transparency, says LHC

Separately, The SC takes suo motu notice of rapid increase in the incidents of child kidnapping

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) observed last week that the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) was infested with corrupt officials and that it needed to be restructured and reorganised in line with the principles of transparent management.

Justice Farrukh Irfan Khan had made the observations while disposing of a contempt of court petition filed by a woman. She had submitted that the LDA had not allotted her a plot she was entitled to and instead had engaged her in litigation for more than 20 years.

Justice Khan said a number of people in Lahore were facing great difficulties at the hands of the corrupt LDA officials. He said the officials indulged in fraudulent practices such as tampering with the files, preparing bogus ownership documents and concealing the LDA records.

In his written order, the judge said, “Ahad Khan Cheema, the LDA director general, admits the element of corruption and malpractice in the LDA.

He informs the court that 80 employees of the LDA have been dismissed from service and that 14 have been removed from service and 22 retired compulsorily. This means that the LDA is infested with corrupt officials. Though he submits that during his four years tenure as the LDA DG he has undertaken various steps to eliminate corrupt practices in the LDA, to the mind of this court removal of a handful of employees would not serve the purpose unless the record of properties is properly secured manually as well as electronically.”

The order reads, “The institution of the LDA, therefore, requires restructuring and re-organisation on modern principles of transparent management for streamlining its working potential as well as to preserve the sanctity of the record of rights of the people. At the same time strict deterrent action is required to be taken against the corrupt officers/officials of the LDA who are found in league with corrupt mafia.”

The court ordered the incumbent DG to complete projects undertaken by his predecessor, including the computerisation of the entire record and the GPS mapping of Lahore.

“All corrupt officials… should not only be dismissed from service after due process of law but their cases should be also referred to the NAB [National Accountability Bureau] or the Anti-Corruption Establishment.”

The court said the LDA DG should be personally answerable for any fraud and forgery in respect of the Authority’s record.

“To prevent fraud and any kind of mischief, the whole record of the LDA pertaining to immoveable properties will be archived with a third party within a period of one year,” the judge said.

The judge directed that the one-window facility, which is already operational, should be under the direct supervision of the LDA DG “who shall take further measures which he deems appropriate to enhance its efficacy. Each and every application/complaint presented through this window shall be disposed of within 15 days and if it is not possible to do so, the complainant will be informed about the status of his application/complaint on a fortnightly basis”.

Child kidnappings

A Supreme Court (SC) division bench constituted a committee last week to look into the recovery of kidnapped children and submit a report in this regard until August 25. The Punjab advocate general is head of the committee.

The SC had taken suo motu notice of rapid increase in the incidents of child kidnapping. The committee met last week. Following the meeting, its members announced setting up of a hotline 1121 to register complaints in this regard. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th, 2016.