LAHORE (Muhammad Ashfaq) - The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that land reserved for public amenities in private housing societies, including schools, parks, mosques and other community facilities, cannot be converted for residential or commercial use.
In a 23-page written judgment, Justice Raheel Kamran Sheikh held that land designated for public amenities is a public trust and cannot be used arbitrarily, even by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA).
The ruling came while deciding a constitutional petition filed by Cooperative Housing Society Agrerics, in which the court directed the LDA to ensure that land earmarked for a school is used solely for educational purposes.
The court instructed the LDA to allot, lease or auction the land within three months in accordance with the law so that a school can be established, ensuring the public receives the intended educational facility.
The judgment observed that land reserved for a school must remain dedicated to that purpose and serve the public interest. The court further noted that the failure to establish the school even after three decades amounted to a violation of citizens' fundamental rights.
The petitioner had argued that the LDA refused to approve the school's building plan and instead sought to transfer the amenity land to its own name, despite no such legal requirement existing when the housing scheme was approved in 1987. The society also challenged Section 13(6) of the LDA Act and related rules, terming them unconstitutional.
The LDA, however, maintained that the housing society itself had proposed converting the mortgage deed into a transfer deed and that transferring amenity land to the authority was a legal requirement for the approval of the housing scheme.
In its decision, the court held that cooperative housing societies are also bound by LDA planning and development regulations, and that registration as a cooperative society does not exempt them from complying with the authority's laws.
The LHC upheld Section 13(6) of the LDA Act and the Private Housing Schemes Rules, 2014, declaring them consistent with the Constitution. However, it clarified that if the LDA attempts to use amenity land for purposes contrary to its original designation in the future, such action may be challenged before the courts.