SC allows Punjab govt to continue work on Ravi riverfront project

ISLAMABAD: Setting aside the verdict of the Lahore High Court, the apex court Monday allowed the Punjab government to continue work on the Ravi riverfront project.

The LHC had declared the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project (RRUDP) illegal. The government, however, moved the Supreme Court challenging the IHC verdict relating to the project.

During today’s hearing, SC judge Justice Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan allowed the provincial government to continue the project on the lands where the owners had been fully paid for their properties.

The government, however, cannot carry on work on the lands where the owners are not paid, ruled the court.

When asked what was wrong with the decision of LHC, Punjab Advocate General Ahmad Awais could not give a satisfactory answer to the court.

At this, the judge reprimanded the legal team of the Punjab government and remarked, ”You even do not know what the case is.”

“It seems that you came here without any preparation”, observed Justice Mazahar Naqvi.

Suspending the LHC verdict in the case, the apex court judge said that the court, in its decision, had quoted references from the US constitution but the situations and constitutions of the two countries are different.

PM says govt to approach SC over Ravi Urban project

On January 28, Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that the government would move the Supreme Court after the Lahore High Court nullified the project.

Speaking to journalists during his visit to Rakh Jhok forest, the prime minister had said this time, the case would be presented in a better manner to appraise the court about the significance of the project in view of urban development and civic facilities.

The PM had said there was a misconception about the Ravi Urban project that it was a housing society. Instead, he said, the grand project aimed at correcting the faults in the wake of unplanned construction of the city.

It is pertinent to mention  here that the LHC had declared the RRUDP illegal  and declared Section 4 of the Ravi Urban Development Authority (amendment) Ordinance 2021 unlawful and unconstitutional.

The mentioned section is contradictory to Article 144 of the Constitution of Pakistan, it had said.