LAHORE: Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Vice Chairman, Sheikh Muhammad Imran has said that they have taken several initiatives that resolved problems faced by the people and it also helped them to control corruption and bribery.
He expressed these views while speaking at the Lahore Press Club’s “Meet the Press” programme here on Saturday. Lahore Press Club President Arshad Ansari and other office bearers were present on the occasion.
He observed that ambiguity in the LDA rules and regulations gave a ground to officers to demand bribes, but after removing the ambiguities bribery has stopped. “Everyone complained that their issues are not addressed by the LDA and to some extent, we have managed to address this issue, but the problems still exists and we are working on it,” he said.
Talking about the initiatives, the Vice Chairman said that for the promotion of educational and health activities the commercial fees of schools and hospitals have been halved while a board has been set up to review the performance of officers. “Significant improvements have been made in building regulations; new regulations were introduced to ease the process of building a new house, including allowing the construction even if the map is not approved within 30 days. Moreover, the LDA inspectors have stopped visiting buildings without a valid reason. We have also taken measures to facilitate small businesses,” he added.
He further said that they have commenced the biometric attendance system in the LDA to catch ghost employees.
Imran maintained that illegal housing schemes are the biggest problem that Lahore faces right now. “At present, there are more than 200 illegal residential societies in Lahore against which indiscriminate action is being taken; no political party was being targeted,” he added.
However, to ease the process of approval for private residential societies, we have formulated new and clear rules,” he added.
According to him, they have done the basic work on the policy and now they are moving towards mega projects. At present, four mega projects are being worked on in Lahore, including Shahkam Flyover, Gulab Devi Underpass, Karim Block Flyover and Underpass.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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