LAHORE: Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday cautioned the Punjab government against attempting to influence the proceedings in petitions against the Ravi Urban Development Authority (Ruda) and its projects.

The judge was hearing the petitions by farmers and landowners when the counsel for some petitioners alleged that the government had been pressurising them to withdraw the cases.

Advocate General of Punjab Ahmad Awais and the lawyers of the Ruda were also present in the court.

Justice Karim reminded Mr Awais that the government was not filing replies according to law and on the other hand it was using indirect coercive measures to influence the decision of the court.

The AGP expressed his ignorance about the situation and requested the court to reveal the names so the perpetrators could be taken to task.

Gives the authority last chance to produce agreement with local govt

The judge said it was surprising that the law officer was unaware of the pressure tactics being used to influence the proceedings.

The judge adjourned the hearing for Oct 7 (today) giving a last opportunity to the provincial government to produce an agreement with the local government.

The judge also dismissed an application by the Ruda for admissibility of documents on the reason that the authority had not filed an amended reply as directed by the court.

Earlier, AGP Awais told the court that the master plan was initially conceived by the Lahore Development Authority on July 14, 2016 and later on the Ruda was established as an autonomous institution under a special law.

The petitioners had challenged the mode and manner of the land acquisition proceedings undertaken for the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project (RRUDP).

They said the land acquisition collector of the Ruda passed 18 awards amounting to multiple billion rupees despite that a lawful public hearing was not held. The petitioners also challenged the legality of forcible acquisitions of land for commercial purposes under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

The court had already stayed the process of land acquisition for the riverfront project and works on it till approval of the mandatory Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report.

CONTEMPT: Justice Shahid Karim will take up a contempt of court petition against the Punjab chief secretary, chairman of the Lahore Waste Management Company and the deputy commissioner for not complying with an order regarding cleaning of the provincial metropolis.

A citizen - Usman Khan - filed the petition through Advocate Sheraz Zaka saying the court had on Sept 14 directed the respondents to clean the city from heaps of garbage and waste.

However, he said the respondents flouted and violated the order of the court.

The petitioner asked the court to initiate contempt proceedings against the respondents.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2021