Jati Umra: City govt to reply on notification by April 24

Notification and demarcation of the area is not based upon any section of the master plan.

LAHORE:

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah of the Lahore High Court on Monday sought a reply from the city district government on a petition challenging a notification to stop construction on around 2,000 acres of land around Jati Umra allegedly to favour the Sharif brothers.

The judge directed the city district government to submit a reply till April 24. Advocate Noshab A Khan moved the petition submitting that city district government on February 4 had issued a notification after which 2,000 acres land around Jati Umra, a residence of the Sharif brothers, was frozen with respect to development of new housing schemes with immediate effect. He said that under this notification this area could not be used for other than agricultural purposes.

He submitted that revenue officers of Jati Umra had been directed to seek no objection certificates before passing any mutation in favour of any housing scheme which meant that the notification had been issued to favour the politicians. He submitted that the impugned notification and demarcation of the area was not based upon any section of the approved master plan of Lahore.

He said that the purpose of the impugned notification was to stop the landowners in the area from constructing houses and even to grow crops on their agriculture land.

The lawyer requested the court to declare the notification illegal and unconstitutional.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2013.