LDA claims improved business facilitation amid Covid

Application approval rate boosted by 16%

LAHORE:

To facilitate the construction sector in line with the package announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan to achieve desired results through Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) reforms, Lahore Development Authority (LDA) has geared up its efforts to serve public amid Covid-19.

With the introduction of EoDB reforms and setting up of e-Khidmat Centre at LDA office Johar Town in mid-July 2020, LDA not only paced up its timely disposal rate but also enhanced its approval rate of the applications received, the authority asserted in a statement.

A total of 26,222 new applications were received at One-Window Cell of LDA while 24,210 applications were disposed of during Aug-Dec 2020. In this period, the application approval rate of LDA stood at 58% in comparison to 42% in the same period of 2019.

The Approval Rate of One Window applications, thus, increased by a considerable 15% in 2020, which shows that more than half number of applications were approved by the LDA.

The yearly timely disposal rate in 2020 also jumped to 42% in comparison to 27% in 2019 and 22 % in 2018- a significant 15% increase from last year. The increased timely disposal rate coupled with a higher approval rate shows the improved functioning of LDA in 2020. The overall disposal rate of LDA also stood at an exceptional 92%.

In comparison to the previous year, LDA issued nearly twice the number of NOCs, Transfer Letters and Building Plans. In 2020 (Aug-Dec), a total of 2,828 NOCs and 2,219 Transfer Letters were issued by LDA in comparison to the 1523 NOCs and 1,180 Transfer Letters respectively issued during the same period of the previous year.

Through e-Khidmat Center, a total of 3,030 applications were received for Building Plan issuance out of which LDA passed 2,026 Building Plans which included 1,999 residential and 27 commercial plans, while 736 are under-process and 268 have been disposed of with objections. This shows a sharp increase both in numbers and percentage approval (73%) in comparison to nearly 1150 Building Plans issued during the same period in the previous year.

Though LDA is usually blamed for slow processing of applications, most of the delays are caused due to the verifications of documents involving other departments such as sub-registrar, revenue, courts, and banks etc, while the blame is unjustly laid upon LDA, it claimed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2021.