LHC scraps celebrated Ravi riverfront project

[313ghazi]

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday scrapped the much-celebrated Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project of the government by declaring several provisions of the Ravi Urban Development Authority (Ruda) Act 2020 unconstitutional.


Announcing a reserved judgement on multiple petitions, Justice Shahid Karim also declared the acquisition of agricultural land for the project unconstitutional and in violation of the fundamental rights of citizens.


The judge read the operative part of the judgement, which is yet to be released, and ruled that Section 4 of the Ruda Act 2020 was in violation of Article 140-A of the Constitution, which deals with the formation of local governments.


He also directed the Ravi Urban Development Authority to return a loan of Rs5 billion to the Punjab government within two months and ruled that the authority had failed to comply with the laws and initiated the project without a master plan.

Declares acquisition of agricultural land for the scheme unconstitutional, violation of citizens’ fundamental rights

Justice Karim said the Ruda (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 also failed to cover legal infirmities in the law. The judge ruled that the notification issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894 had not been released in accordance with the law. The land collectors failed to legally acquire the land for the project, the judge added.


The judgement had been reserved on Dec 21, 2021.


Farmers, land owners and developers had filed petitions through lawyers Sheraz Zaka, Ahmad Rafay Alam, Azhar Siddique, Waqar A. Sheikh and others.


The petitioners had challenged the mode and manner of land acquisition proceedings undertaken for the project by Ravi Urban Development Authority. They said the land acquisition collector, despite a protest by the landowners, passed 18 awards on a single day amounting to billions of rupees.


They also challenged the legality of forceful acquisition of land for commercial purposes under the Land Acquisition Act 1894. Some of the petitioners questioned the legality of the Environment Impact Assessment of the project prepared by a non-registered consultant.


The Punjab advocate general had opposed the petitions, saying the project was of public importance and the court lacked jurisdiction to interfere in the policy affairs of the government.


Barrister Ali Zafar, the counsel for the Ravi Urban Development Authority, had argued that the project was environment-friendly and would ensure conservation, clean air for Lahore and include within it a massive forest.


Advocate Amina Qadir, who was appointed as amicus curiae, told the court that the project was not for public welfare. She said the government had been unable to justify the scheme keeping in view the public trust doctrine as Punjab would be bereft of its fertile plains.

LHC scraps celebrated Ravi riverfront project

Declares acquisition of agricultural land for the scheme unconstitutional, violation of citizens’ fundamental rights.

www.dawn.com

 

[FuturePAF]

Barrister Ali Zafar, the counsel for the Ravi Urban Development Authority, had argued that the project was environment-friendly and would ensure conservation, clean air for Lahore and include within it a massive forest.

Can’t the government just plant more trees inside the existing areas of Lahore. Pakistan has lost more than 12% of tree cover over the last 30 years, reversing that in our existing cities should yield more overall benefit then just one large forest where there use to be just farmland.

Also, can’t the government just change the building standards of parts of Lahore so that more of new built construction is multi-story apartments with modern amenities to better utilize resources and create less pollution.

 

[peagle]

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday scrapped the much-celebrated Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project of the government by declaring several provisions of the Ravi Urban Development Authority (Ruda) Act 2020 unconstitutional.


Announcing a reserved judgement on multiple petitions, Justice Shahid Karim also declared the acquisition of agricultural land for the project unconstitutional and in violation of the fundamental rights of citizens.


The judge read the operative part of the judgement, which is yet to be released, and ruled that Section 4 of the Ruda Act 2020 was in violation of Article 140-A of the Constitution, which deals with the formation of local governments.


He also directed the Ravi Urban Development Authority to return a loan of Rs5 billion to the Punjab government within two months and ruled that the authority had failed to comply with the laws and initiated the project without a master plan.




Justice Karim said the Ruda (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 also failed to cover legal infirmities in the law. The judge ruled that the notification issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894 had not been released in accordance with the law. The land collectors failed to legally acquire the land for the project, the judge added.


The judgement had been reserved on Dec 21, 2021.


Farmers, land owners and developers had filed petitions through lawyers Sheraz Zaka, Ahmad Rafay Alam, Azhar Siddique, Waqar A. Sheikh and others.


The petitioners had challenged the mode and manner of land acquisition proceedings undertaken for the project by Ravi Urban Development Authority. They said the land acquisition collector, despite a protest by the landowners, passed 18 awards on a single day amounting to billions of rupees.


They also challenged the legality of forceful acquisition of land for commercial purposes under the Land Acquisition Act 1894. Some of the petitioners questioned the legality of the Environment Impact Assessment of the project prepared by a non-registered consultant.


The Punjab advocate general had opposed the petitions, saying the project was of public importance and the court lacked jurisdiction to interfere in the policy affairs of the government.


Barrister Ali Zafar, the counsel for the Ravi Urban Development Authority, had argued that the project was environment-friendly and would ensure conservation, clean air for Lahore and include within it a massive forest.


Advocate Amina Qadir, who was appointed as amicus curiae, told the court that the project was not for public welfare. She said the government had been unable to justify the scheme keeping in view the public trust doctrine as Punjab would be bereft of its fertile plains.

LHC scraps celebrated Ravi riverfront project

Declares acquisition of agricultural land for the scheme unconstitutional, violation of citizens’ fundamental rights.

www.dawn.com

Our courts need to stay out of economic projects, when will they learn.
It is good to impose the rule of law but they seem to be getting involved in everything, let the executive arm run the government.
This has become a joke.

Pakistan steel mill privatisation was stopped because of courts,
the Riko Dig fine of $6 billion dollars was because the courts cancelled the contract.

SO many examples, how can our country develop if the courts keep getting involved so much?
Impose conditionalities or whatever so that environmental concerns are met, but to cancel altogether is simply stupid and ridiculous.

 

[Falconless]

Can’t the government just plant more trees inside the existing areas of Lahore. Pakistan has lost more than 12% of tree cover over the last 30 years, reversing that in our existing cities should yield more overall benefit then just one large forest where there use to be just farmland.

Also, can’t the government just change the building standards of parts of Lahore so that more of new built construction is multi-story apartments with modern amenities to better utilize resources and create less pollution.

You build housing in new areas, move people out of the urban slums. Redevelop those slums into Parklands.

Plus you also need new land for your city to grow

 

[Kompromat]

Tell me this is not sabotage!

 

[FuturePAF]

You build housing in new areas, move people out of the urban slums. Redevelop those slums into Parklands.

Plus you also need new land for your city to grow

People living in slums and shanties wouldn’t be the ones moving to the new part of the city. If anything those are the areas that should be redeveloped, similar to Haussmann’s renovation of Paris approx. 200 years ago. By building up, but only up to five or six stories, land can be created in between for small parks and more trees, and walkable streets. A five or six story building would be the limit of what people would be willing to walk up and down, limit the number of people in a building so it doesn’t becomes an ungovernable location, but it would raise the amenities for the community and create a more manageable layout for the city officials.

A design similar to the Conventional building (not the fancy ones in the video) from the model of Masdar city in the UAE.

 

[Falconless]

I

People living in slums and shanties wouldn’t be the ones moving to the new part of the city. If anything those are the areas that should be redeveloped, similar to Haussmann’s renovation of Paris approx. 200 years ago. By building up, but only up to five or six stories, land can be created in between for small parks and more trees, and walkable streets. A five or six story building would be the limit of what people would be willing to walk up and down, limit the number of people in a building so it becomes an ungovernable location, but it would raise the amenities for the community and create a more manageable layout for the city officials.

A design similar to the Conventional building (not the fancy ones in the video) from the model of Masdar city in the UAE.
View attachment 811275

I’m pretty sure RUDA was inspired by the new towns of Singapore and Hong Kong. Read about how a small village in Hong Kong was turned into a city with a population of 1.1 million and how it enabled the removal of the slums in the colony.

 

[Menace2Society]

Look Lahore needs a replacement, a well managed and clean flagship city in Punjab with a proper business/commercial district. Lahore is not fit for purpose and a wealthy province like Punjab should have a big developed city. Comon there are 100 million Punjabis with significant wealth, stop slumming it.

 

[Mentee]

Good riddance !

We want every official h.q at least in our divisions so nobody has to visit Lahore wasting precious time and money even for the prettiest things like verifying secondary and intermediate school certificates .

 

[Falconless]

People living in slums and shanties wouldn’t be the ones moving to the new part of the city. If anything those are the areas that should be redeveloped, similar to Haussmann’s renovation of Paris approx. 200 years ago. By building up, but only up to five or six stories, land can be created in between for small parks and more trees, and walkable streets. A five or six story building would be the limit of what people would be willing to walk up and down, limit the number of people in a building so it becomes an ungovernable location, but it would raise the amenities for the community and create a more manageable layout for the city officials.

A design similar to the Conventional building (not the fancy ones in the video) from the model of Masdar city in the UAE.
View attachment 811275

This looks like urban hell

Agar har jagga homes bantay rahay to wheat kahan hogi and kattay kahan palain ga?

Justice Saab should start by demolishing Bahria town, it literally blocked the ring road from being complete

 

[Menace2Society]

Justice Saab should start by demolishing Bahria town, it literally blocked the ring road from being complete

I hate this gated nonsense. It reminds of Domincan republic, its literally a slum and then you go through gates at it become an exotic paradise full of resorts. I don't like this divide.

 

[Yeti786]

Our courts need to stay out of economic projects, when will they learn.
It is good to impose the rule of law but they seem to be getting involved in everything, let the executive arm run the government.
This has become a joke.

Pakistan steel mill privatisation was stopped because of courts,
the Riko Dig fine of $6 billion dollars was because the courts cancelled the contract.

SO many examples, how can our country develop if the courts keep getting involved so much?
Impose conditionalities or whatever so that environmental concerns are met, but to cancel altogether is simply stupid and ridiculous.

The LHC didn't take a suo moto or exercised it's jurisdiction. The writ petition was moved by farmers whose Agri land was being forcibly acquired through eminent domain at low rates.

This wasn't industries, it's land grab to build another glorified Islamabad on a nullah.

You build housing in new areas, move people out of the urban slums. Redevelop those slums into Parklands.

Plus you also need new land for your city to grow

If only things were so simple. DHA esque housing estate are not the answer. I wish ..

 

[Yeti786]

Tell me this is not sabotage!

Sure thing. Tell that to the Agri landholders whose lands are being acquired forcibly.

This is another DHA + Saudi Neom city in making. So no it's no sabotage. It's riding rough shod using eminent domain to acquire land. Only ME princes dream this up.

I

I’m pretty sure RUDA was inspired by the new towns of Singapore and Hong Kong. Read about how a small village in Hong Kong was turned into a city with a population of 1.1 million and how it enabled the removal of the slums in the colony.

HK has a housing problem worse than many cities. It's apartments are glorified slums for which you'll find more such gens that I've quoted.

Tiny Apartments and Punishing Work Hours: The Economic Roots of Hong Kong’s Protests (Published 2019)

The widening wealth gap is being felt in the most fundamental way: where people live. The apartments in which many residents now live are so small they are called cages and coffins.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Yeti786]

Look Lahore needs a replacement, a well managed and clean flagship city in Punjab with a proper business/commercial district. Lahore is not fit for purpose and a wealthy province like Punjab should have a big developed city. Comon there are 100 million Punjabis with significant wealth, stop slumming it.

Trolling isn't allowed on platform or I'll dumb it down more.

Pakistan is a poor country, where slums exist and it's up to us to invest in education and social development. If that's not acceptable to elite you better move to wapda town, dha etc. rather than using public money to build a gated city.

Building 2 Islamabad in each province isn't gonna solve shit.

 

[FuturePAF]

This looks like urban hell


Justice Saab should start by demolishing Bahria town, it literally blocked the ring road from being complete

If we want Urban then we have to plan for Urban. Many people seem to want some kind of Surburban housing. What I proposed was for the Slums, were people could afford to live but still have a decent quality of life with adequate city services and amenities, but not in a 15 stores building that will fall into disrepair due to neglect and lack of a sense of ownership from the residents.

We can look to the plans being developed for Dubai 2040; a walkable city that is expected to reach a population of 6 million.

Or we can look at what Paris did 200 years ago. Many that live in central Paris wouldn’t consider their city to be urban hell. In fact the added density makes it a desirable place for investment and efficient use of infrastructure like public transportation.

An added benefit of focusing on the slums is bring the community and cottage industries threw into the formal economy.

How are Lahore’s slums any different the. The slums in Paris in 1877; less than 150 years ago.

Baron Haussmann’s Destruction of Old Paris – The West End Museum

Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann created modern Paris through ambitious urban renewal projects over almost 20 years (1853-1871), but he displaced thousands of working-class Parisians through demolition and slum clearance.

thewestendmuseum.org