Houses for low income groups to be built on Raiwind Road and Ferozepur Road

LAHORE - Two mega Lahore Development Authority (LDA) housing schemes on Ferozepur Road and Raiwind Road, which were supposed to be designed on the pattern of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) five years ago, are back in business after the LDA Governing Body’s meeting held on Friday decided to carry out the topographic survey and satellite imagery of a suitable chunk of land of the proposed sites, Pakistan Today has learnt.
According to sources, both housing schemes, which were supposed to be prepared for low-income groups hit snags, as the authority concerned had run out of the funding required for acquisition of land for the schemes. A senior LDA official told Pakistan Today that the two schemes with 0.21 million plots were situated in the southern part of the city. LDA approved the housing schemes on October 31, 2006 with notification under LDA Act 1975 to meet residential requirements of the city.
The Punjab government had banned sale and purchase of land in the area concerned. One housing scheme, covering around 25,000 kanals, will be built along Raiwind Road while the second housing scheme covering 0.25 million kanals will be built along Ferozepur Road. Both the schemes will involve 23 small towns including Moza Sadhar, Pandoki, Jalkey, Chehdow, Rakth Chehdow, Toor Warriach, Tehpanju, Badooki, Khand, Asal Suleman, Aato Asal, Kachah, Kang Sharif, Jiya Bagga, Chak Boota, Dhodhey, Raiwand, Karyal, Jalal Pura, Jadu Dheer, Ladhu Key Acheh, Watney, and Moza Kangra.
The housing schemes will focus on preparing a large number of three marlas plots for widows, orphans and the destitute. According to sources, in the first scheme, there will be 7,500 plots of one kanal, 7,500 plots of 10 marlas, 8,333 plots of three marlas while in the second scheme, there will be 15,000 plots of one kanal, 15,000 plots of 10 marlas and 16,666 plots of three marlas. On being contacted, the LDA spokesman told Pakistan Today that LDA was determined to launch the housing schemes but first it wanted to complete the work regarding road infrastructure going on with full scale throughout the city.
The LDA Governing Body decided to set up a finance and trade centre on 1,123 kanals in Johar Town besides carrying out the topographic survey and taking satellite imagery of a suitable chunk of land for launching two new housing schemes in the provincial metropolis. The governing body’s meeting was held with Lahore District Coordination Officer (DCO) and LDA Chairman Ahad Cheema in the chair. The authority decided to hold an open auction of the remaining 15 lower ground floor shops and 19 ground floor shops of the Liberty Park and Ride Plaza during the first week of July.
It also decided to request the Punjab Education Department construction of building for the Model Girls High School in Block-B/2, Gujjarpura. The proposal for allotment of alternative plot number 2, Block-M, measuring two kanals, three marlas and 125 square feet of Model Town Extension Scheme to the Pakistan Engineering Council in lieu of already allotted plot number 11, Block-M of the same scheme, as physical possession of the earlier allotted plot could be delivered to the allotee since it was already under possession of the Punjab Women’s Development and Welfare Centre, was rejected as the council was not a government department.
The meeting also rejected the proposal of constituting a committee for determining the price of land behind Surraiya Azeem Hospital, allotted to encroachers affected by the extension of Chowk Chauburji, Lahore.