Lahore: Anti-encroachment drive proving futile?

[Naveed Yaseen]

THE ongoing anti-encroachment drive of the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) and the town municipal administrations (TMAs) seems to be a waste of time because soon after the anti-encroachment operation, encroachers restart their business at the same spots.

A grand operation against encroachments was recently launched in the city by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), the CDGL and the TMAs and all these departments were issuing press releases daily regarding their operations in which they claimed removal of hundreds of encroachments.

It is pertinent to mention here that a visit of the areas after a day or two where these departments carried out anti-encroachment operation revealed the real situation. One could witness the same encroachers and encroachments at the same spots.

Residents of various localities of the city complained that as soon as teams of the CDGL, the LDA and the TMAs left the scenes after removing illegal constructions, the encroachers restarted their work.

Residents of the Peco Road, Township, said as the CDGL and Gulberg Town officials left the place after demolishing several encroachments, mostly made by the restaurants operating on the side roads, the restaurants gathered the broken boards and reinstalled their makeshift ovens and counters at the same places.

The commissioner Lahore, in a meeting held on Monday, also raised the issue and directed the DCO Lahore and the town municipal officers (TMOs) to take strict action against the encroachers as well as the enforcement inspectors of the town concerned.

Meanwhile, the LDA continued its drive against encroachments on the Maulana Shaukat Ali Road, Faisal Town, for the second consecutive day on Tuesday and demolished as many as 52 platforms, constructed in front of showrooms and offices, in contravention of the building regulations.

Scores of other illegal structures were also removed during the joint operation of the officials of the Estate Management Directorate, the Town Planning Wing of the LDA and the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa). All the encroachments were causing impediments in movement of pedestrians, flow of traffic as well as quick disposal of storm water from the market.

The LDA has also urged residents of its schemes to voluntarily eliminate all encroachments without any further delay, failing which they would have to bear the demolition charges as well. Action would be taken against the encroachers under sections 33, 34 and 40 of the LDA Act 1975.

Residents of different localities of the city have urged the Punjab chief minister to take serious notice of the situation and ensure that the encroachers do not raise illegal structures at the same place. They also demanded the government impose heavy fines on such encroachers.

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