Lahore: Gulberg Town development lagging behind

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Town has not had constant TMO since Ali Abbas
* Abbas says administration managed to remove encroachments from park, other factors will be resolved soon

By Afnan Khan
LAHORE: Frequent transfers, suspensions and the ongoing campaign to control flour rates have all left several important Gulberg Town issues unresolved, as the town inspectors are unable to carry out operations against encroachments and various food related issues, Daily Times learnt on Monday.
Around 12 town inspectors had been deployed by the administration in different parts of the area to control the price of bread and put a halt to the illegal sale of subsidised flour by tandoor owners. The situation has adversely affected both the anti-encroachment campaign and issues like illegally developed parking lots and the overcharging of parking fees.
The town’s major project, a bid to beatify the Liberty Market and its surrounding areas, has also been adversely affected by the phenomenon, while the suspension of a recently appointed town municipal officer (TMO) has further added to the miserable condition. The small hotels that are linked with the main mosque at Liberty are considered to be the main encroachers, as they not only occupy public land, but have also destroyed the footpaths that are linked to the main road.
The town administration has held several operations against the eateries, but it is not possible to ‘beautify’ liberty without proper maintenance, beautification of the park and the removal of encroachments from its adjacent areas. The town officials established a camp in Liberty, which was aimed to facilitate the project and get rid of all the encroachments, but to no avail. A Gulberg Town inspector said that all the inspectors were focusing on controlling the flour issue, adding that the other factors like the permanent absence of the town nazim and the government’s failure to appoint the right TMO for one of the most significant towns in the city were hampering all development projects.
TMO: The unfortunate town has not held a constant TMO except for Ali Abbas, who served as the TMO for over two-and-a-half years. Since Abbas, Amtal Qadoos, Muzaffar Awan, Sultan Mehmood and Zahid Naseer Butt have all served as the Gulberg Town TMO within just a few months of each other. The inspector said that the experimentation and lack of interest by the government, as well as the town administration, were to blame for the delays in the other projects, including the one aimed to beautify the Liberty Market. He said that it was not possible to control the encroachments in Liberty, especially those caused because of the small hotels and eateries next to the main mosque. He said that the government would have to impose solid operations to control the encroachments.
Soon: Ali Abbas said that the town administration was bound to follow the orders given to it by the higher authorities, adding that the government’s highest priority was to control the price of essential commodities. He said that all the inspectors were instructed to ensure the sale of flour at fixed rates. He said that the Gulberg Town was a populous and elite town, adding that it required more manpower and better planning if it wished to resolve the issues faced by it. He said that the Gulberg Town administration had managed to remove encroachments from the park, adding that the other factors would be resolved soon.

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