he Punjab government is required to compensate on market rates the people whose land/property will be acquired for the Shahi Bagh project near Jahangir tomb along the River Ravi in Shahdara.

It is necessary that authorities compensate additionally other than the cost of land (resettlement/rehabilitation and disturbance cost) to those who will be affected by the project costing about Rs8 billion.

The government, which already owns a huge chunk of state land, desires to acquire over 4,000 kanals of additional land, including the private property comprising around 200 houses, for the project.

According to official documents, the proposed project consists of two major components -the restoration of historical/heritage site (the Jahangir tomb), and development of a world class theme/ amusement parl< on 878 acres of land along the River Ravi.

`The project area covers five historicaland heritage buildings, such as, tombs of Jahangir, Noor Jahan, Asif Khan and Akbari Sarai and Baradari of Kamran Mirza.

Over the years these relics of the Mughal history have been neglected.

Many of these historical sites need urgent restoration which will help preserve not only monuments of Lahore but also of the whole region,` reads a report of the project`s environment impact assessment.

The report, which has been shared with the planning and development department, the LDA (the project`s executing agency) and others concerned, claims the scheme aims at conserving these magnificent sites in order to create a cultural center which will be cherished and celebrated by the people of Pakistan.

About the Theme Park, the report said it would comprise a combination of stateof-the-art rides found popular in parks around the world with a facility to add newer and more advanced rides as available.

`Today, signature roller coasters are vital for any modern theme parks. These crown jewels of rides, expensive and dif-ficult to make, provide distinct identity to the theme park, significantly increasing marketing efficiency. Apart from roller coasters, technologically advanced and customized rides are needed to maintain the novelty value of the parl( it states.

The other salient features of the project are the development of an artificial lake comprising a fresh water body of about 142 acres with an approximate length of 900m and width of 600m at a distance of 1,700m from Jahangir`s tomb.

The depth of the lake will vary from 4ft to 15ft and will store 1,420 acres feet of water. The source of water is an upstream proposed channel of 200 cfs capacity taken out from the River Ravi.

The periphery walls of the water lake will be of reinforced concrete. The bed of the lake will be geo-membrane to avoid any potential seepage.

The report mentions various impacts (both negative and positive) of the project. These include land acquisition and resettlement, existing infrastructure loss such as residential areas, sports complex areas etc. The others include impact on project adjoining areas, aquatic life,socio-economic, loss of livelihood, lower riparian, agriculture and floods etc.

The report also suggests various mitigation measures, including the resettlement and compensation on market price.

The report mentions various positive impacts such as business and employment opportunities, development of tourism Industry, revenue generation, environmental up-gradation, slum eradication, protection from floods, cultural mobilization, historical and heritage building conservation, etc.

`Still we don`t know about this project and the land acquisition. The government should tell us clearly well on time and announce a handsome compensatory package (market price of the land and other benefits) for us,` Muhammad Rafique, a resident of the project area demanded while talking to Dawn.

On the other hand, an ofhcial said the government had already decided to compensate the landowner as per the market price. `The government is also thinking to give some other benefits (rehabilitation cost etc) to those whose land would be acquired. But it has notyet decided,` the official, who requested anonymity, said.

inally, the Lahore Parking Company (LPC) took over control of the entire privately managed parking system on Model Town Link Road last week.

The take over operation was carried out in view of growing complaints related to vehicle theft, damage to vehicles (cars, bikes, etc).

Previously, the LPC was running four parking lots, including the Pace Shopping Mall and Zainab Tower.

And after the operation, it has converted both sides of the road into one huge parking lot. `We have done this after the police requested us repeatedly due to growing complaints of vehicle theft,` LPC Managing Director Taseer Ahmad said.

He said previously the people used to park their vehicles on their own rislc which led to increase in theft cases.

`Since we took over the control, such complaints have reduced,` the MD claimed.-(khalidpak284@yahoo.com)