SC suspends LHC order on Ravi riverfront project

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday suspended the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) January 25 order that declared the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project (RRUDP) as illegal.

An apex court bench, led by Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, allowed the Punjab government to resume construction work on the project and issued notices to respondents to file their response to the Punjab government’s appeal through which it challenged the LHC order.

The court ruled that the government may continue work on lands whose owners have been paid compensation. The SC bench said it would determine whether an intra-court appeal could be filed against the LHC order or not and if so, it would send the case back to the high court for rehearing.

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On Jan 25, the Lahore High Court (LHC) declared the procurement of land under section iv as unlawful in its decision on petitions against Ravi River Urban Project. The high court bench ruled that the schemes without master plan are unlawful and declared the section iv notification as void.

“Agriculture lands can be procured under a legal procedure,” the bench ruled and declared the Amended ordinance against Article 120 of the constitution. The environmental laws have been ignored in the Ravi River Urban Project, the court said.

“The loans for the project have been borrowed illegally,” the bench said. The court also ordered setting environmental standards for the project.