Taking action against commercial buildings violating approved building plans, Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Town Planning Department shut down more buildings and shops in Gulberg on Wednesday.
The LDA team led by Town Planning Deputy Director Mohammed Faheem shut down 11 shops in Siddiq Trade Centre on Main Boulevard. LDA officials said that the shops were built on an area that was approved for car parking according to the building plans and were therefore shut down. The local trade union led a protest against the LDA team and barred them from taking any further action.
In another raid, the administration office of a building owned by a businessman Sheikh Kabir and situated next to Alamgir Tower on Main Boulevard, was sealed. LDA sources said that more storeys were being built on the plaza than were allowed and the raid was to stop violation of the building plans.
In the raid on Tuesday, the team had sealed three commercial buildings, namely Omega Centre, Jeff Heights and Hassan Centre. LDA officials said that the buildings would remain sealed until the construction authorities worked according to LDA building plans and made all arrangements required.
A senior LDA official who wished to remain unnamed said that more commercial buildings in the city including Big City, Rabi Centre and Ahsen Tower were on the “hit-list” of the LDA and these buildings would be raided in a few days. Sources said that the LDA planned to take further action against commercial buildings violating building bylaws throughout the city. A senior LDA official said that many of the owners of such buildings had acquired stay orders from the court so that the buildings could not be demolished. He said that authorities could however still seal the buildings to conduct any activity.
He said further that managements at many buildings had not made proper arrangements for parking, which resulted in traffic jams and caused problems for the public, as witnessed outside many shopping centres.
LDA Director General Raja Abbas, defending the LDA raids, said that if laws were being violated, the authority concerned was bound to take action.
Source: Daily Times
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