LAHORE: There has been a mushrooming of illegal constructions in the Metropolitan Corporation of Lahore, and, ironically, the town planning officers seem to have turned a blind eye to this development.

Just how grave the situation is can be gauged by the fact that out of the 445 buildings identified by an initial survey to have been constructed illegally, only three buildings have been demolished. Others, the overwhelming majority, have simply been issued notices and that’s all. No other action against them appears to be on the cards for the time being.

A few other buildings were partially demolished so that they could be officially referred to as examples of work being done. Buildings constructed against the bylaws have become a challenge for the Punjab government as well as for the Local Government Department.