Lahore: City Master Plan 2021 in the Offing

LAHORE - The Punjab govt is likely to take up Integrated Master Plan-2021 in June to cope with the growing traffic, unplanned urbanisation and unchecked commercialisation in the City.The master plan was started during PML-N government in 1998 with the personal interest of PML-N president and the then chief minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif.

National Engineering Services of Pakistan (NESPAK) has already prepared the plan while the district council Lahore had approved it. The project could not be executed due to ouster of PML-N government in 1999.Sources revealed that the PML-Q Punjab president and former chief minister Punjab Ch Pervaiz Elahi took up the plan but ordered for a new study to rationalise it.

Since then a number of studies had been carried out with no results, the sources added.The sources further disclosed the Punjab government would set up a committee to firm up strategy for the execution of plan. The committee will also prepare an action plan to incorporate Ring Road and rapid mass transit projects.

They added that the committee would comprise of City Nazim Amer Mehmood and all heads of TEPA, LDA, CDGL, TMAs, WASA, LESCO and the traffic police.In order to meet future traffic needs, the committee will be assigned to conduct a new study on Gulberg Main Boulevard, which could also include re-engineering of the road. Under the study proposals will be taken up regarding construction of flyovers for connecting Ferozepur Road to Motorway.

Flyovers could be constructed at Kalma Chowk, Y-Junction Barkat Market, Bhekewal Mor, Scheme Mor and Yateem Khana Chowk.A city government official said the CDGL had already set up a committee to give suggestions to rationalise commercialisation after studying the land use and density of commercial buildings in various areas of the city.

He said the purpose of the study was to formulate a strategy to streamline commercial activities and stop mushrooming multi-story buildings in the city.According to a study by the TEPA in 2007, the total estimated traffic on Canal Road (between Allama Iqbal Road and The Mall) was 205,241 vehicles on both sides, whereas the actual capacity of the road was 48,000 vehicles. The study further showed that the traffic volume would reach 123,117 vehicles in 2010 and 142,726 vehicles in 2015 on the same road.

The roads with messy traffic included Canal Road, Ferozepur Road, Wahdat Road, Jail Road, The Mall, MB Garden Town near Barkat Market, Shahra-e-Jamia Punjab, Shabbir Usmani Road, Maulana Shaukat Ali Road and Multan Road. A addition lane to Canal Road, Wahdat Road, Khayaban-e-Jamia Punjab and Maulana Shaukat Ali Road will make the traffic smooth on Multan Road and Ferozepur Road till 2010.

The additional lanes will also become useless in 2015 in case the government failed to operate green and orange lines of Mass Transit System in 2012 and 2017 respectively.The study said that lane addition on Canal Road and improvement of associated links would delay the traffic crisis till year 2015.

It also said Rapid Mass Transit lines along Ferozepur Road and Multan Road in 2012 and 2017 could provide desired service levels. The study had estimated that traffic growth rate in the city was 4 per cent per year from 2006 and it would continue till 2010. However, it would reduce to 3 per cent from 2010 to 2015. The rate would further decrease to 2 per cent from 2025 to 2030.

It may be recalled that the district government failed to devise a mechanism for the implementation of the approved Lahore Master Plan in 2004.A bill of the master plan was tabled in the district assembly where it was formally approved.After the approval, the authorities had to present it to the provincial local government and rural development department authorities in line with Section 27 of the revised Local Government Ordinance.

Four district officers (for land control, area planning, planning and development and planning and policies) and six deputy district officers and assistant deputy district officers were to implement the master plan. Officials said that due to the city government's lack of action, all nine towns also failed to devise the structural mechanism for implementing their master plans.Courtesy:

The Nation, 30/5/2008