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Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. –George Washington
LAHORE Friday, 5 July, 2013
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lda seals 12 more commercial buildings LAHORE sTAff REPORT
The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Commercialisation Directorate on Thursday sealed 12 more residential buildings being used commercially in violation of LDA building by-laws in Gulberg. As part of its on-going drive against unlawful commercial activities in residential buildings, the LDA has so far sealed 50 properties in Lahore. The 12 buildings included a furniture showroom situated at 44 F, a telecommunications company’s 53 F, Russia Consulate Office at 13-A in H Block, a clinic at 6-A, a school at 1-B, a cargo office at 2-A, a guest house at 5B, a textile office at 6-E and a survey office at 13-C. Further, two other buildings were sealed in Block EI, Gulberg III which included a furniture showroom at plot No 11 and a beauty parlour at plot No 129.
lhc wants local govt secy to decide lpc issue lahore: The Lahore High Court Thursday referring a plea against awarding parking stands contract to Lahore Parking Company (LPC) ordered Punjab local government secretary to treat it as an appeal and decide the matter within seven days. The court also restrained the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) from awarding parking stands contract till the decision of the matter. Justice Muhammad Khalid Mehmood Khan passed the orders while disposing of a petition filed by Sheikh Manzoor and Muhammad Pervaiz against awarding parking stands contract to LPC. The petitioners submitted that they were registered contractors of CDGL and were operating two CDGL parking stands which were obtained after bidding. The respondents, CDGL administrator and others town municipal officers had signed a contract with LPC for management and administration of CDGL parking stands at various locations in the city, they added, contending that the agreement was illegal as the respondents did not have authority to establish a company for collection of parking fee as per laws. They pleaded the court to set aside the contract being illegal. APP
ppp observes black day LAHORE APP
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would observe Black Day today against the overthrowing of the PPP government on July 5 in 1977. According to party sources, PPP’s Punjab division would organise ceremonies at a district level in the province. General Ziaul Haq toppled the PPP government on July 5, 1977, declaring martial law in the country.
A RIDE WITH BIN LADEN: Mehraab Khan, the truck’s owner, casually sipping qehwa at Shahdara, narrates that he has nothing to with Osama Bin Laden’s painting on his truck. “It was already there when I bought the truck for Rs 4 million from Peshawar,” he says. muRTAzA ALI
ogra ‘scheming’ against cNg sector illegal shoW-cause notices handed to cng oPerators, cng sector suffering because it lacks Political influence: aPcnga LAHORE INP
The All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) on Thursday accused the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) of hatching a conspiracy against the CNG sector by issuing illegal show-cause notices to over 1,000 CNG operators in residential areas. The APCNGA maintained that OGRA was using intimidation tactics by fining the CNG operators to make them quit the business, before finally cancelling their licenses. They maintained that OGRA had started dancing to the tunes of influential lobbies out to destroy the world’s leading CNG industry, violating its own rules and regulations in the process. The APCNGA informed that all petrol pumps and CNG operators had acquired a No Objection Certificate
(NOC) from 12 different departments under the Petroleum Ministry’s policies before commencing commercial operations. These departments included OGRA, Explosives Department, Traffic Police, Town Municipal Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, electricity and gas distribution companies, district administration, national and provincial highway authorities and Civil Aviation Authority, said APCNGA Supreme Council Chairman Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha. Moreover, all CNG operators had also procured the NOC from all neighbours before establishing their business, he said. Paracha said that all government agencies were responsible for any oversights during the NOC acquiring process, adding that all the aforementioned departments would also be guilty of harassing the masses
and the investors who had invested around Rs 400 billion in the vibrant CNG sector. He said that OGRA had allowed the construction of all CNG outlets on their current locations, and he found it surprising that 23 years later, they have decided to issue show cause notices on these very locations. “Why didn’t the other departments take any action against these CNG outlets so far if there was something wrong with their locations?” he questioned. Paracha said that targeting CNG stations on the pretext of residential areas is a conspiracy as all the business in the residential areas are established on commercial patches after permission from authorities. He maintained that shifting CNG outlets out of the city was not feasible and it would add gravely to the masses’ sufferings. The CNG sector’s leader said that their sector lacked political clout; therefore it was regularly harassed on one pretext or the other. He asked the chief justice of Pakistan and the prime minister to take note of the situation as the CNG operators had not violated any laws.
saNaUllah UNveils ‘special’ ramadaN secUrity plaN lahore: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan on Thursday said that the Punjab government would maintain stringent security during Ramadan. “All city and district police officials have been asked to develop a foolproof security plan for Ramadan,” he informed. He revealed that on Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s special directives, security measures would be enforced around mosques and Imambargahs during Fajr and Taraveeh prayers, while additional police forces would be deployed at main bazaars, shopping plazas and commercial areas. According to the security plan, four policemen would guard categoryA mosques while two policemen would be deployed at category-B mosques. The minister said that police officers had also been asked to make surprise visits to different areas and police stations to personally monitor their subordinates’ performance. He warned that DPO, SDPO and SHO concerned would be responsible for any negligence. Answering a question, Rana Sanaullah said that essential items would be made available at the cheapest rates at Sastay Ramadan bazaars. He said that the government had already allocated Rs 4 billion for establishing over 200 Ramadan bazaars across the province. APP
Shahbaz seeks Chinese cooperation for power crisis lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the cooperation of Chinese authorities and investors for
overcoming the energy crisis in Pakistan would further strengthen diplomatic relations between the two countries, while speaking during a series of meetings with various government and semi-government institutional heads in Beijing. The chief minister said that there was vast scope for electricity generation from coal, solar and hydel power in Pakistan, and he hoped that China would cooperate with Pakistan in benefiting from these resources. He said that maximum facilities and protection would be extended to investors in Punjab’s energy sector, and land would be provided to them on a short term for installing solar energy plants. The government would also exert all effort required to minimise the cost of electricity production to these plants. Shahbaz stated that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to China aimed towards seeking Chinese cooperation in energy production. He said that China was a trusted ally and he hoped that it would not abandon Pakistan in its time of need. “Pakistan is not asking for aid: we only want friendly cooperation
and technical guidance from China,” he added. He maintained that Pakistanis were a talented nation and expressed confidence that the country could make rapid progress like China under Nawaz Sharif’s dynamic leadership. The chief minister invited the heads of Chinese companies to visit Punjab and evolve power generation projects here. Meanwhile, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Punjab government and the China Energy Engineering Company in Beijing. Provincial Energy Minister Sher Ali Khan signed the document on the Punjab government’s behalf. Under the agreement, the Chinese company would set up a medium range power generation project using coal. Earlier, the underground metro authorities gave a briefing to Shahbaz Sharif on the transport system in Beijing. Chinese authorities and experts expressed their willingness to cooperate in operating the most modern transport system in the major cities of the province. APP