A wave of illegal constructions and unregulated development is sweeping across Lahore due to gross negligence, apathy, and administrative inefficiency within the Lahore Development Authority’s (LDA) City Metropolitan Planning (CMP) Wing. Despite the passage of over six weeks since the merger of the Directorate of Metropolitan Planning and Housing Schemes (DMPHS) into the CMP Wing, no new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) or regulatory bylaws have been approved by the Chief Metropolitan Officer.
According to insiders, when the DMPHS was dissolved and merged into the CMP Wing, it was publicly assured that fresh SOPs would be formulated within a matter of days. However, no such framework has materialised to date. This lack of policy and operational direction has thrown LDA’s Master Plan into disarray, enabling a dramatic escalation in unauthorized sub-divisions, commercial developments in housing schemes, and the construction of farmhouses on agricultural land.
Senior officials – including directors, deputy directors, and assistant directors of the CMP Wing – have reportedly confined their roles to merely marking daily attendance, while field inspections, complaint redressal, and regulatory enforcement remain neglected. Sources claim that no notices are being issued against reported violations, and concerned officers are resorting to turning off their mobile phones, citing the absence of approved SOPs as a pretext for inaction.