New Commercialisation Policy - For all

[Asian.Century]

Good move???

New commercialisation policy

By Staff Reporter

LAHORE, July 2: The Lahore Development Authority on Saturday devised a new commercialisation policy to boost business-related activities in the city.

According to a press release issued here on Saturday, the policy has been devised after consultations with all stakeholders, including public representatives, trade organisations, shopkeepers, economic experts and architects and the District Planning and Design Committee.

The new ‘business friendly’ commercialisation policy has been issued for 58 roads situated in various housing schemes as well as the area controlled by the LDA.

The press release says ‘unprecedented’ relaxations and incentives had been given to the builders for construction of commercial buildings and to the businessmen for starting new ventures in the new policy.

The new policy envisages permission for all types of business activity on roads allowed for commercialisation, wavier on the conditions regarding construction of multi-storey buildings with basements, size of plots, green belt, parking and open space etc.

The roads where the commercial activity under new policy has been allowed initially are:

Johar Town
Gulshan-e-Ravi,
Main Boulevard,
Garden Town road,
Canal Bank Road, Johar Town,
Main Boulevard of PIA Scheme (Wapda Roundabout to Hakam Chowk),

Main Boulevard of Johar Town (Canal Link Road up to Nursery Chowk), Main Boulevard of Johar Town (Doctors’ Hospital link-up to Bypass road),

Approach Road Shadbagh (From Tajpura Morr to Gol Ground),
Multan Road (Yateem Khana Chowk to Defence Road),
Defence Road (Multan Road to Raiwind Road),
College Road (Ghazi Road to Plot No 1 & 16-5-C-1I Township), Ferozepur Road (Chungi Amar Sadhu to Sua Asil),

Main Boulevard of Garden Town, Main Boulevard of Allama Iqbal Town, Main Boulevard of Shadman,
M Shaukat Ali Road and College Road (Township),
Jail Road, Shabbir Usmani Road (Garden Town),
Sher Shah Road (Gullarpura),
AI-Madina Road and Bagrian Road (Township),

Main Boulevard of Samanabad),
Model Town link road,
Abu-ul-Hassan Isphahani Road (Faisal town),
Wahdat Road,
Ghausul Azam Road,
Main Boulevard of MM Alam Road,
Hali Road,
Stadium Road,
Noor Jahan Road,
Liberty Market,
Shahrah-i-Quaid-i-Azam,
Tariq Road,
backside of the Liberty Market,
Ghalib Road,
College Road,
Park Road and Guru Mangat Road in Gulberg and various others.

DIRECTORATES: Two LDA directorates — Estate Management-I and Estate Management-II — have been clubbed together and named as Directorate of Estate Management.

Muhammad Nauman Khan, Estate Management-I director, has been posted as Director (Estate Management) with immediate effect.

According to a press release, Mr Khan has also been relieved from the additional charge of Land Development-I director.

Liaqat Ali Randhawa, previously posted as Estate Management-II director, has been transferred and posted as LDA Land Development-I director, the press release said.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/03/ldas-new-co...ion-policy.html

 

[Asian.Century]

New chance of building Businesses on 58 Main Roads everywhere, !!!

Urban planning: LDA eases commerce restrictions on 58 roads

LAHORE: The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) has lifted restrictions on commercial activity on 58 roads in the city in a bid to raise more revenue for development.

Under the authority’s new commercialisation policy, the roads will now be open to any commercial concerns except bus terminals, goods transport terminals and godowns, an LDA spokesman told The Express Tribune.

The LDA has waived the restriction on size and now plots of less than one kanal can also be used for commercial activities, unless it is a high school or wedding hall, in which case a minimum of four kanals will be required. Existing schools and halls are allowed to continue operating and paying commercialisation fees. LDA approval must be obtained before plots can be used for commercial purposes.

Previously, businesses on commercialised roads were paying the LDA annual fees of 0.6 per cent of the DC rate, which is the minimum land value. Under the new policy, starting a business will require a one-off charge of 20 per cent of the DC rate. An official said that the DC rate is revised for each area every five years, but couldn’t say when it was last revised.

The LDA has also eased restrictions on building height. The upper limit on height is determined by multiplying the width of the road by 1.5, plus an additional 15 per cent. Rules for leaving open space have also been eased and the minimum space reduced. Restrictions on basements have been lifted.

The new policy, drawn up by the district design and planning committee headed by the Lahore commissioner, had input from all stakeholders including traders’ unions, economists and builders, the LDA spokesman said. He said that the public had been invited to give its views through adverts in newspapers late last year.

Traders welcomed the new policy as business-friendly. Muhammad Bilal, a wedding hall owner on Gulshan-i-Ravi’s Main Boulevard, said that he would be able to operate his business without the threat of closure. “Previously we were worried about the future but now we can either enhance or renovate our halls, which will definitely boost our business,” he said. But owners of wedding halls on Canal Bank Road voiced concern that the policy did not extend to that road, which was recently handed over to the LDA.

Khalid Khan, the owner of a wedding hall by the Canal, said the authority should announce a policy for them too. “We are already in a tense situation as we have repeatedly received notices to move. We will now sit together and decide what to do next,” he said.

A resident of a heavily commercialised part of Gulberg said that there was already much noise pollution and traffic in the area, and it would only get worse with further commercialisation.

Abdul Aleem Khan, a former PML-Q minister and one of the top property developers in Lahore, said the new policy seemed to be an attempt by the provincial government to seek support among traders. “It won’t work though. They still have not forgiven the government for knocking down high-rises and the anti-encroachment drive,” he said.

Khan said that allowing commercialisation of all roads would result in less business at traditional centres of commerce.

The roads on which commercial activity was allowed for the First time are Main Boulevard, Johar Town Gulshan-i-Ravi; Main Boulevard, PIA Scheme (Wapda roundabout to Hakim Square); parts of Main Boulevard, Johar Town; the approach road to Shadbagh (Tajpura Mor to Gol Ground, Shadbagh); Multan Road (Yateem Khana Square to Defence Road); segments of College Road, Township; and Ferozepur Road (Chungi Amar Sidhu to Sua-Asil).

Commercial activity was already allowed at:
Jail Road;
Main Boulevard,
Gulberg;
MM Alam Road,
Gulberg;
Parts of Hali Road,
Gulberg (Property #136 and 64 E-1, Gulberg III, to Property #114 and 73 E-1, Gulberg III);
Stadium Road,
Noor Jehan Road,
Gulberg;
The Mall;
Tariq Road;
Link MM Alam Road;
the road behind Liberty Market;
Firdaus Market Road;
Link Road,
Main Market (Shezan side);
Link Road,
Main Market (Auriga side);
part of Ghalib Road (Chen One Road);
Main Boulevard,
Garden Town;
Main Boulevard,
Allama Iqbal Town;
Main Boulevard,
Shadman;
Maulana Shaukat Ali Road (Canal Bridge to Model Town Link Road junction - Johar Town);
College Road,
Township (Akbar Chowk to Ghazi Chowk);
Ferozepur Road (Qurtaba Chowk to Chungi Amar Sidhu);
Sher Shah Road,
Gujjarpura;
Al-Madina Road,
Township;
Bagrian Road,
Township;
Main Boulevard,
Samanabad;
Approach Road Tajpura;
Part of Civic Centre Road,
Garden Town;
Model Town Link Road;
Hamdard Jail Road (Plot #1223-5-D/II to Ghazi Chowk);
Shabbir Usmani Road (Y-Junction to M Shaukat Ali Road);
Main Boulevard,
Shadbagh;
College Road,
Gulberg (Property #9 and 10 Block K, Gulberg II, to Property #6-H and 24-H, Gulberg II);
Park Road,
Ali Zeb Avenue,
Gulberg (Property #1 J Block to #6 J Block, Gulberg III);
Link MM Alam Road (Property #9, T Block, Gulberg II to Property #14, T Block, Gulberg II);
Guru Mangat Road, Gulberg (Only right side coming from College Road);
Abul Hasan Isfahani Road (Property #30, 31, 32, 33 and 34, Block B, Faisal Town);
Shadman part of Race Course Road;
Shahra-i-Aiwan-i-Tijarat (Property #6, Shadman to Property #1, Shadman);
Link Road,
Main Boulevard,
Garden Town (Property #13, 14, 47, 48, 80 to 85, Babar Block, New Garden Town);
and
Wahdat Road (Ferozepur Road to Property #69-C, New Muslim Town).

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2011.

 

[Asian.Century]

???
LDA’s new commercialisation policy set to collapse

Courts moved against LDA with policy yet to be gazetted, Abolition of building height, plot-size limits being questioned

LAHORE - LDA’s error-ridden new commercialisation policy, announced on July 2 with pomp and show, is set to collapse as courts shall be moved against the policy on July 14 (today) claiming it to be unjustified, anti-public and full of anomalies.

The first irregularity to rock the commercialisation policy is the delay in its gazette notification. As per rules, unless a gazette notification is issued, the policy cannot technically come into force. Other platforms have questioned the withdrawal of all building height and plot size limits.

“LDA does not have structural engineers to check the structural stability of any building however the commercialisation policy ends all building height limits” a senior LDA official told Pakistan Today, declaring the change ‘incomprehensible.’

LDA Chief Town Planner Muhammad Akram Chaudhry said that rules had been passed after its approval by District Planning and Design Committee under Rules-51 of LDA Land Use Classification (Classification, Reclassification and Redevelopment) Rules vide notification No. SO (H-II)5-2/81.

LDA director commercialisation Muhammad Fahim said that the salient features of the new commercialisation rules were publicized through media. He said the decision to end building height limits and undoing plot size were taken to attract commerce. “However, a limitless building is not possible,” he said, “rules already dictate that the building on a one kanal plot can not exceed 38 feet height and 3 and 4 car parking spaces must be created.” He also said the new policy would appear in the gazette soon.
Stakeholders must be

on-board: Barrister Zafarullah who filed the case said that commercialisation policy could never be enforced unless commercial plot owners were taken on board. He said that the LDA changed rules whenever they were subjected to court examination. “Neither stakeholders were taken into confidence nor policy was vetted by competent authority,” he added.

He said that new policy had put people having residential plots in commercial zone in peril. “Those who are not well-off and own a residential plot between two commercial plots can not survive. They shall have to get their plot commercialized, and shall have to pay over Rs. 4.5 million for a one kanal plot,” he added.
He said that new move had undone the annual commercialisation policy which was injustice to existing commercial plot owners. As per the previous annual commercialisation policy, commercial plot owners had to pay a much lower commercialisation fee, he added.

Failures of the old policy: Data available to Pakistan Today reveals, LDA imposed a 6 percent as commercialisation fee on annual basis in 2009 against 3 percent in 2008. But the story did not end here. The fee soared to 9 percent at the end of 2010 and surged to 12 percent in 2011. The policy was set to expire in 2011. The rise in fee means those who paid about Rs 80,000 in 2008 shall now have to pay Rs 800,000.

Data reveals that before 2001, LDA would commercialize one kanal property on permanent basis by getting 20 percent of total value of land under scheduled rate, typically called DC rate issued by government. After 2001, LDA continued the commercialisation policy on permanent basis on 20 percent changes but allowed the conversion of residential areas into commercial zones on an annual basis. Under the annual arrangement, people had to pay 3 percent of the 20 percent fee of total value of the property. And then pay 10 percent the next year. Instead of open plots, only the residential buildings were allowed to be change into commercial units. The policy led to a commercialisation mess creating problems including social and cultural constraints, traffic gridlocks, chaotic parking, noise and air pollution and others. With the shift in policy, property rates jumped and brought a real estate boom.

The 2008 formula was followed by citizens wishing to convert their plots. Meanwhile, LDA began paperwork for a new commercialisation policy. In mid-2009, commericla plot-owners whose commercialisation expiry dates arrived, applied for renewal. Though the commercialisation policy was in making, but applicants were kept in the dark on the new policy’s pros and cons. In the meantime, government increased property DC rates called schedule rates which increased the property rate manifold. With this, formula regarding commercialisation fee that linked to total value of property had to be readjusted leading to a 800 percent increase in the commercialisation fee. Unconcerned LDA announced a new policy in October, 2009 and sent inflated demand notices for the payment of commercialisation fee with a deadline in February, 2010. The case remains pending in court.

http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk

 

[Asian.Century]

Muslim Town Flyover won’t be easy

YASIR HABIB Saturday, 1 Oct 2011 1:29 am | Comments (2)

Funds running low for ‘dangerously designed’ overpass; Traders unhappy with govt plans to demolish shops

LAHORE - Controversies have engulfed the Muslim Town Flyover on Ferozepur Road just 48 hours before the official launch of the project, with construction scheduled to begin on Sunday, October 2. Costing some Rs 3.5 billion, the flyover, which would arch over the Canal and Muslim Town Mor to reach WAPDA Hospital, would be the longest one in the history of Lahore and would be in the shape of a giant S. It would also be the second split flyover built in the city, Kalma Chowk Flyover being the first.

However, construction problems have erupted around the large-scale project after the government announced plans to demolish around 100 shops along the path of the massive overpass. Another hiccup in the ambitious plan is the shortage of funds, along with objections to the shape of the flyover. A similarly shaped flyover built by the NLC in Karachi had collapsed a few years ago, creatingdoubts about the structural integrity of an S-shaped bridge.

The Punjab Communication and Works (C&W) Department had informally carried out some initial work after Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif approved the project on August 27 and laid the foundation stone on September 20, but controversy reared its head when a number of shops were marked with red paint, a clear indication to traders that these shops had to be razed to make way for the construction of the flyover. Traders headed by Anjuman-e-Tajran Ferozepur Road President Mehboob Ali Sirki took stock of the situation and decided to resist the project.

In a defiant note, they decided to stage protest demonstration if their shops were bulldozed without their consent. Three meetings have since been held to settle the issue but all of them have remained inconclusive. Sirki told Pakistan Today that designs had to be changed to avoid inflicting anydamage on traders who had been running their businesses here for a long time. “Though the C&W Department has offered to provide alternative locations along with financial compensation, but change of location will definitely ruin the businesses,” he said.

The tense situation could be prevented, he said, if the demolition was split between the two sides of the road instead of clearing up the entire 18 square feet of required land on only one side, so that the least possible damage was incurred by traders. He said the next round of meetings would be held on Monday and if their demands were not met they would unleash a spell of protests. C&W Project Director Sabir Khan said the government had planned to give 4 kanals of alternative lands to traders with additional parking lanes that would be helpful in boosting their business.

The government would also pay them compensation, he added. Khan claimed that only some shops in Madina Tower and others would be razed to clear the way for the flyover, and that almost 90 percent of traders were agreed on the issue. He said C&W had discussed the issue with Nespak as well to make some changes to the current design in order to reduce the damage to the traders’ shops. “We will try our best to acquire government land instead of private land for an alternative place of business for the [affected] traders,” he added.

A City District Government Lahore (CDGL) official said shortage of funds was also a big problem in the construction of the flyover. He said the chief minister had announced that the CDGL would make available the necessary funds for the project without consulting CDGL. “It was a shock for us as everybody knows the CDGL is cash-strapped and cannot bear the expenses of Rs 3.5 billion for the construction of a flyover,” he said.

He said that during a meeting, Lahore District Coordination Officer (DCO) Ahed Cheema had tried to convince the chief minister to use substitute resources to arrange funds instead of overburdening the CDGL, but Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Director General (DG) Abdul Jabbar Shaheen had told the chief minister that the authority would arrange funds for the flyover through auction of the plots and land available to the department at the proposed Expo Centre at Johar Town. However, at present there is no confirmation about the availability of funds, because of which construction might stop in the middle, said the official.

Experts believe that S-shaped flyovers should be avoided as they require a high level of expertise in engineering. The smallest flaw in the design might lead to a tragedy, they said. LDA Chief Engineer Israr Saeed said the flyover aimed to make Ferozepur Road a signal-free corridor. He said that the project was likely to be completed by March 20, 2012 by working round-the-clock and it would be formally inaugurated on March 23. He said the estimated cost of flyover’s construction was Rs 3.5 billion, while it would result in savings of Rs 2.8 billion annually in travel costs after its completion.

He said that a provision had also been made for the Bus Rapid Transport System and metro system on Ferozepur Road in the design of Muslim Town Flyover.

Muslim Town Flyover won

 

[Asian.Century]

I want Walton Area of Lahore alll changed and redrafted immediately!!

 

[Asian.Century]

Commercialization policy required again!