LAHORE: In a major reshuffle, the Lahore Development Authority transferred its eight directors after the caretaker chief minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi paid a surprise visit to the LDA’s one-window cell on Tuesday and ordered the authorities concerned to take action following the public complaints.

During his visit, people complained to the caretaker chief minister about the delayed response from the LDA’s directorates concerned to their applications related to different issues.

The LDA administration also assigned the additional director general (housing) to hold daily meetings of the officers, review progress and take appropriate measures in this regard.

“During the [CM’s] visit, people complained they have to repeatedly visit the one-window cell due to the delay caused by the officers of various internal directorates related to housing and town planning. They said the officials also receive bribes for doing their routine work.

On this, the CM expressed anger over the management and asked it to change the entire staff of the one-window cell. But later, he was told that most of the issues were, in fact, related to the directorates other than the one-window cell,“ an official source privy to the development told Dawn on Tuesday.

“As a result, the administration transferred the one-window director and several others,” the source added.

According to a notification issued on the orders of the LDA Director General [commissioner] Muhammad Ali Randhawa, the officers transferred included Moazzam Rasheed (Director Housing-IV), Rafia Nazir (Deputy Director, Environment Control), Ali Bin Suhail (Director Housing-XII), Muhammad Mahmood Aslam (Director, One Window), Asadullah Cheema (Director, Private Housing Schemes), Ayesha Mutahir (Director Town Planning—Zone VII), Syed Ali Abbas (Director Town Planning-Zone-1) and Ahmad Saeed Sultan (Deputy Director Town Planning). Mr Khurram Yaqoob (Director Housing IX) was entrusted with the additional charge of director housing-XII.

“It has been observed with grave concerns that the applications of public in the LDA are not being processed within the stipulated time frame, which in turn results in suffering of the public and for that reason, the staff working with the pendency of 20 applications are directed to attend the office six-days a week from 9am to 5pm daily to expedite processing and disposal of the pending applications of the citizens,” reads the official order.

It also says the applications at the one-window cell will be received during working hours (9am to 5pm) instead of 9am to 2pm.“The additional director general (housing) is hereby directed to hold daily meetings from 9am to 10am to review progress of all directorates,” it states.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2023