The River Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA) has excluded the entire Shahdara area from the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development (RRUD) project.
Speaking to media persons on Sunday, RUDA spokesperson S M Imran said rumors of relocating or affecting two million population of Shahdara for the riverfront project were baseless. “The authority has excluded the entire area of Shahdara from the new city project.”
He invited local residents to express their reservations and concerns about the project and launch agitation if they were told by any government agency that their land was being acquired instantly.
Locals should not panic due to false propaganda about the project, claimed the RUDA spokesperson. “Right now, only a comprehensive survey is underway which is aimed to collect details of built-up areas, including location of industrial units, houses, schools, hospitals, mosques and other buildings for the purpose of planning,” he added.
He further said that the RRUD was not new to the people. “It was a more than 20 years old project and successive governments had worked on it. No one had raised any objection or lodged protest against it in the past. Citizens were now being provoked for a cause which was not true,” he stated.
He highlighted that lands of the citizens were grabbed by a mafia and not by the government. “The incumbent government has been elected by the people and people will never be mistreated.”
“The government is a friend of the citizens, and not their enemy. No action will be taken without asking the citizens and no one will be allowed to exploit them. Citizens should not listen to those who are misleading them for their political motives.”
He said that a section of a law had been enforced on an area of 102,000 acres in 2014. According to the survey conducted at that time, there were 3,100 acres of illegal settlements in the area which were built without any planning. “Today, after six years, illegal settlements have spread over an area of about 7,000 acres.
Therefore, if it is not planned then after 10 years illegal and chaotic constructions will be carried out here as well.”
The spokesman elaborated that this was not just a project but a complete city that could be built over a period of many years. “This city will be built according to modern planning standards. This is a 30-year plan. He said that six million saplings will be planted in the new city and 1,700 acres will be set aside for forests. ‘An Eco-city will be established here and the existing orchards will be integrated into it.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 30th, 2020.
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