LDA to deal with officials who create hurdles

DG says authority will initiate departmental inquiry

LAHORE: The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) has announced to take stern action against its official creating undue hurdles in smooth functioning of the authority.

LDA Director General (DG) Amna Imran Khan has said the authority has decided to prepare a list of black sheep earning a bad name for the institution. The authority will initiate a departmental inquiry against them, besides considering options to register police or send their cases to Anti-Corruption Establishment, she added. Khan held an open court in One Window Cell at LDA Office in Johar Town on Saturday.



She heard public complaints and issued direction on the spot. Khan directed officials concerned to prepare a list of staff using delaying tactics in the issuance of no-objection certificate (NOC) to citizens and ask them for an explanation.

She said there is no place for inefficient officials in the authority who are creating undue hurdles for citizens. "LDA is a service-oriented organisation and it is the responsibility of LDA officials to serve citizens in an efficient manner. If there are some issues in citizens' applications they should be informed at once. It is very non-professional to force applicants to visit LDA office again and again for routine work," she maintained.



Khan directed heads of all directorates to submit their performance reports to her on a weekly basis. She said officials should ensure that no outsider is allowed to enter LDA office. It will help in curbing the menace of corruption and delaying tactics. Issuance of NOC is one of the most laborious tasks for citizens as in routine the authority took minimum three to four months for the issuance of NOC owing to sluggish performance of LDA staff and cumbersome procedures adopted by the authority. On the other hand, in private housing societies, such tasks require a couple days or in some cases in a couple of hours.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2018.