LDA conducts second Master Plan consultation round

LAHORE: On Tuesday, Lahore Development Authority (LDA) conducted the second round of consultation on the Master Plan of Lahore 2050 to collect viable input from the public.

In this regard, LDA in collaboration with various stakeholders, conducted four public hearings in Lahore, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, and Kasur respectively. LDA also invited the public via public notices to the consultation rounds.
An LDA officer said, “In the first notice, we issued around 20 days before, we have received over 20 suggestions/observations from the people through the LDA’s one-window operations,”.

The draft of master plan 2050 encompasses housing and accommodation of around 9 million people within Lahore city district and 3.6 million outside with the projection of a 12.6mn requisite budget for the next 28 years.

LDA further upheld that given the future development of Lahore, Kasur, Nankana Sahib, and Sheikhupura has to comply with the national and provincial government, all proposed plans and policies are thus approved on the given condition that they comply with relevant laws, rules, and policies.

Furthermore, the plan incorporated the detailed land use survey as per the sub-rule 5(a) of LDA Master Plan Rules 2014 via field visits and high-resolution satellite imaging. Sample household surveys were also incorporated to inform upon demographic, social, and housing trends in Lahore.

With regards to creating a balanced economy in Lahore, the master plan emphasizes on 6 E’s – enabling a circular economy, engaging local opportunities, emboldening SMEs & entrepreneurship, encouraging private investment, empowering women, youth, and people, and finally enhancing infrastructural reliability.

It also emphasizes the modern concept of neighbourhood planning to efficiently distribute public facilities and tackle urban issues like traffic congestion. Furthermore, it includes zoning models based on densification and mixed-use planning in the areas with low population densities and broad areas where increased densification would not hamper urban life. It also emphasizes creating 500m long buffer zones alongside various building areas and structure roads.
Another recommendation focuses on informal area zoning comprising 10,000 people in nearby neighbourhoods to improve community facilities and commercial services.

The LDA official upheld, “It will take around a week to study these suggestions. And if we find all or some of them viable, we will incorporate these in the draft master plan. Similarly, the suggestions/input to be received in the future public hearings or through public notices would also be studied.”