HE Lahore Development Authority (LDA) is currently passing through a painful challenge of dealing with massive litigations related to various blocks of the LDA Avenue-I Scheme.

The officials are working out various strategies to accommodate affectees/allotees if the courts give decisions against the LDA in a number of cases in future. At present, the scheme`s 69 per cent area is cleared while the rest is facing litigation.

The allotments in blocks E, K, C, J, M and C (completely or partially) had been challenged in courts about 11 years back by several parties, including Islamic Scholar Research Society, Dilaways Society, Chiniot Cooperative Society and Public Health Cooperative Society.

According to petitioners, the land acquired by the LDA in these blocks had earlier been purchased and possessed by them. While on the other hand, the LDA stated that it had acquired the land and the petitioners didn`t get their schemes approved from it under the law.Officialssay since the cases have been lying pending with courts for many years, the LDA has started working out various viable plans to accommodate over 3,500 affectees if it loses these in future.

`At present, some senior officials have been tasked with creating new/additional plots in the scheme by finding additional spaces or reducing size of plots through Geographical Information System (GIS) as well as physical measurement of all existing plots in disputed blocks of the scheme. The work is going on at a fast track,` an official privy to the development told Dawn.

He said though there was some development in finding additional spaces after doing exact measurements of plots on ground and not through the GIS system, the work on reducing size of plots was also started in parallel. According to an official, the standard sizes/measurements of a 10 and 20 marla plots are 35x65 and 50x90. So an exercise to reduce the actual size of plots into 33x65 or 47x90 was done.

`The entire exercise has so far helped the LDA in finding hardly less than 1,000 additional plots,` the official said.He said according to a tentative arrangement, the LDA planned to refund the payments to those to whom it might not be able to give alternate plots despite the on-going exercise.

`The LDA director-general is of the view that such allottees should be given refund with attractive interest so that they avoid going to courts,` the official said.

He said the LDA also planned to make some amendments in building bylaws specifically with reference to future constructions and enforcement in Avenue-I Scheme.

`The amendments may be related to leaving open areas/spaces on the front, right/left and at the back of the building and enforcement of laws particularly demolition on the spot etc,` he added.

Talking to this reporter, another official expressed fear that the on-going exercise might not be successful keeping in view the situation on ground. `If you reduce sizes of plots, how the allottees will keep quiet. They will surely demand compensation from the LDA or move the court.

Secondly, up to how much the LDA will re-fund the payment to those who will remain deprived of alternate plots.

If the refund will be less than Rs3.5 million to Rs4 million (against 10-marla plot as per current market value) and Rs6 million to Rs7 million (against a 20-marla plot), the affectees will definitely approach the court for remedy,` he explained, suggesting the LDA management to handle such affairs carefully.

The official urged the LDA to revive its old plan of developing the Avenue-2 Scheme on Raiwind Road in order to adjust all affectees there in case of failure in proving its stance in the courts.

T HE quarters concerned have almost prepared a draft/working paper for the establishment of the Lahore Water and Sanitation Company after a high-level committee constituted by the Punjab government sought work in this regard on an emergent basis.

The proposal seeking establishment of the LWSC was approved in a high-level meeting chaired by Chief MinisterShahbaz Sharif last month.

According to a recent letter, the chief minister constituted a committee headed by the Additional Chief Secretary to look into the affairs of Wasa deeply after the recent death of two kids in Shahdara.

Committee members, including the ACS, the Secretary (Housing and Urban Development), the Lahore Commissioner, a member of the Chief Minister Inspection Team, the LDA DG and Wasa MD, stressed the need for early establishment of the LWSC and handing over of the city`s three major localities, including Johar Town, to it.

`Very soon, the city will have LWSC as officials have prepared the working paper for its registration with the SECP and other departments concerned,` a Punjab government official told Dawn.

He said soon after the establishment of the LWSC, the jobs related to hiring of staff, office building and handing over of operations in three localities from Wasa to LWSC would be completed within a short span of time.