LAHORE – The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday declared the Ravi Riverfort Urban Development Project (RRUDP), a mega development project in the provincial capital, illegal.
The high court issued the ruling on petitions filed by farmers, challenging the government’s land acquisition procedure for RRUDP.
It also declared Section 4 of the Ravi Urban Development Authority (amendment) Ordinance 2021 unlawful and unconstitutional, stating that the said sections are in violation of Article 144 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
The court remarked that the government acquired the land in clear violation of Land Acquisition Act, 1894, adding: “Lahore and Sheikhupura failed to abide by the law in the land acquisition”.
LHC highlighted that since Ravi urban project’s master plan is the basic document, all the schemes should be execuated under the master plan as per the law.
“Hence, any scheme worked upon without [being included in] the master plan is illegal,” the court said.
The court has ordered the Authority to return the money it had received from the government within two months to acquire land for the project.
Ravi Riverfront Urban Development project The Ravi Urban Development Authority was inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan in August 2020.
He claimed that the project will save Lahore. If we want to save Lahore, this project needs to be made, he said, adding that without it, Lahore would have to face water problems that Karachi is facing today.
“The pollution level in Lahore has surpassed the danger level which can impact the health of people,” he said.
