My family has ancestral land in the area surrounding the current area selected for the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project and now I am hearing stuff in real estate rumour mill that suggests that our land might be acquired by government, among that of many others. There was also a protest in the area few days back, staged by the landowners because the land seemed to be acquired on DC rates. It is really unfair since we have been paying taxes as per the market rate or FBR rate? How the government can buy this land on DC rates when they have been asking for taxes as per the market/FBR rate?
I first heard about the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project when IK inaugurated it. Few mega project of this scale has ever been launched in Pakistan and it sounded all grand and amazing when I first found out about it. I mean 40,000 hectares land area and a project that was to imitates the community near the River Thames. It was to include urban forest, barrages, water treatment plans – with 70% area reserved for the plantation of 6 million trees. Moreover, 1.4 million residential units and industrial/education/health and other dedicated zones were also planned.
However, now my family is likely to pay for this dream-project and how can this be justified?
Not to mention that I am hearing that the very project launched to restore balance to Lahore’s unplanned urbanisation also threatens the natural flow of Ravi and region’s ecology – as per the environment experts? Now, so many of you might not be interested in the environmental aspect of real estate, however, as someone who suffers and scares the sepia-toned Lahore in smog season, I am highly concerned about this. After all IK’s big words about the steps to control climate change, the government wants to capitalise on destroying the very land that sustains us?