ISLAMABAD – Encouraged by the PM’s initiative to boost the construction sector, the private developers have proposed a law to the government for “compulsory acquisition” of small pockets of land falling within the boundary of development projects by the private sector, in the “public interest.”

The proposal says that developers are unable to meet the basic requirement of owning 100 per cent contiguous piece of land for launching any kind of planned development. The proposal presented by an urban development specialist/town planner on behalf of the private developers to the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) for consideration states that

Government of Pakistan is authorized by law to acquire the requisite land for launching any residential, commercial or industrial project all over the country in the public interest. “The private developers, on contrary, to achieve the same purpose have to purchase all the land from open market on their own without any legal support from the government which is a challenging job, especially in the presence of speculator/land mafia and land revenue system,” said the proposal drafted in the name of “Roadmap for Resolving Urban Development and Housing Issues of Pakistan and Building Sustainable Cities and Towns.”