LAHORE: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal says the federal government will get identity and character of Lahore preserved keeping in view the conditions it had imposed at the time when the Punjab government had sent the Orange Line Metro Train Project to its Planning and Development Commission for approval.

“When the Punjab government had submitted the Orange Line project to us, we had accorded approval to it on the condition that it would keep identity and character of the city intact during the construction of train stations etc. And the provincial government is already taking measures by following the guidelines the planning commission had laid out while approving the project,” the minister said at the inaugural session of the third International Pakistan Urban Forum-2015 at the Alhamra Arts Centre on Friday.

The event’s theme is “Reimagining Pakistan’s Cities for 21st Century”.

The chief executive officer of the organising agency -- Urban Unit (a subsidiary of the Planning and Development Department) Dr Nasir Javed pledged to issue a final declaration of recommendations on the last day (Tuesday). The event is aimed at highlighting the urban agenda in totality following rapid urbanisation in the country.

He said the growth and development of all of Pakistan’s cities was unplanned and anyone could assess it while having an aerial view of these. He said he had seen flow of clean water in the Ravi many years ago whenever he visited Lahore but now the river was full of sewerage of the entire city.

He said the duplication of roles was another problem. “In Lahore, we are seeing a parallel and same role of the Lahore Municipal/Metropolitan Corporation, the Lahore Development Authority and the Cantonment Boards. There is also no implementation on the land use and zoning rules. So, this should now be resolved under a uniformed strategy and policy,” he said.

He said the Lahore Metro Bus Project had helped the public at large in reaching offices, schools and homes within a short span of time. Though the government had subsidised the project, it should increase its financial resources as well.

He said the federal government had decided to involve the private sector and academia while launching projects leading to good governance. He said the cities of Pakistan should be developed and grown amid greenery and smartness. “Our cities shouldn’t be for the wealthy people alone; rather, these should be for poor people.”

He criticised the talk shows being aired by the electronic media for highlighting Pakistan as “worst place in the world.” “It seems that such programmes are just for negative propaganda about Pakistan. And now we should at least leave such things and show positive picture of our homeland,” he added.

Earlier, P&D Secretary Iftikhar Sahoo gave an overview of the Punjab’s growth strategy, stating that no country could be counted as developed one without industrialisation and urbanisation. “Our growth strategy is based on creating new jobs for a bulk of youth entering the market, productivity, manufacturing and industrialisation etc.” He said Punjab looked to be at 7-8pc growth by 2018.

Mr Shahid Khan, an urban planning expert from Australia, said urbanisation across the world began after industrial revolution. “While debating on urbanisation as good or bad, we must believe that the innovation always emerges in the urban sector. But the main causes behind unplanned urbanisation in Pakistan are loadshedding, mismanagement and bad governance,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2015