Commercialisation: guess where new policy applies

Authority says new policy will apply to 58 roads, but can’t name 13.

LAHORE:

The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) announced on July 2 that it was introducing a new commercialisation policy on 58 roads, but four days later, it still isn’t able to identify all of these roads.

The press release from the LDA’s public relations department includes a list of the roads, but there are actually only 45 roads and road segments listed.

Only seven of these roads and two roads segments were previously not open for commercialisation.

Chief town planner Chaudhry Muhammad Akram said there may have been a counting mistake or error of omission in the press release.

However, he was unable to name any of the ‘missing’ roads, saying he had been very busy for the last couple of days.

The LDA has also started to advertise its new commercialisation rules in print, even though the policy has not even been notified yet. LDA officials initially told The Express Tribune that the notification had been issued, but when asked for a copy, said that the commissioner was the authority for that. However, the commissioner’s office denied having issued any notification in this regard.

An LDA spokesman then said that until a notification was issued, the new policy would not be implemented. “We will not go to traders on those roads where commercialisation has been allowed for the first time till we receive the notification, and the traders on other roads which were already open for commercialisation will be asked to pay all their outstanding dues,” he said.

The roads where commercialisation was previously frozen but will soon be allowed are Main Boulevard Gulshan-i-Ravi; Main Boulevard, PIA Scheme (Wapda Roundabout to Hakam Chowk); Main Boulevard, Johar Town (Canal Link Road up to Nursery Chowk); Main Boulevard, Johar Town (Doctor’s Hospital link road up to bypass); Approach Road Shadbagh (From Tajpura Mor to Gol Ground Shadbagh); Multan Road (Yateem Khana Chowk to Defence Road); Defence Road (Multan Road to Raiwind Road); College Road, Township (Ghazi Road to Plot No 1 and 16-5-C-1 Township); and Ferozepur Road (Segment 5) (Chungi Amar Sidhu to Suay Asil).

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2011.