Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) has urged the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) to shelve the plan of conversion of Kahna Kacha Industrial Estate (KKIE) into a residential scheme as this initiative would result in dire consequences.
The priority to residential colonies over industrial areas was a matter of concern for the business community, said PIAF office bearers; chairman Irfan Iqbal sheikh, senior vice chairman Tanveer Ahmed Sufi alonwith vice chairman Khawaja Shahzeb Akram in a joint statement and appealed to the Punjab Chief Minister to intervene the matter.
PIAF Chairman Irfan Iqbal while commenting on the issue said that not only the industry but the government would also be the looser as the closure of hundreds of industrial units would cause huge loss to the national exchequer in terms of taxes and utility bills. The government should be well aware of the fact that residential colonies cannot be important than industrial clusters. It is the worst misuse of Land Acquisition Act 1894 which is now eating up Kahna Kacha Industrial Estate, where over hundred industrial units are not only providing employment to thousands of workers but also bringing in precious foreign exchange.
He further said the industrial estates and free zones always attract local and foreign investment and contributed to the economic development of any country. These make a vital contribution to the national exports besides generating huge employment opportunities; he said and added that Pakistan has already lost a number of international markets while the condition of both local and foreign investment is also precarious. When the country is struggling to enhance exports, collapse of Kahna Kacha Industrial Estate would further aggravate the situation, he added.