Illegal Construction on Agriculture Farmland

 
 
 
Illegal Construction on Agriculture Farmland

Pakistan, an agriculture-based country, is heavily dependent on its farm economy as it contributes 20% to the GDP and employs over 50% of the province’s workforce (Pakistan Economic Survey, 2020-21). Most of the agricultural output of the country comes from its farmland. These lands provide food, and cover for wildlife helps control flooding, protect wetlands and watersheds and maintain air quality. However, for some time, it has been observed that for the construction of many development projects, the farmland has been grabbed forcibly by the farmers, destroying crops on hundreds of acres of land.

Recently, the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development (RRUD) project was making headlines regarding occupying the farmland from the farmers for development purposes. The land where the concerned project is expected to proceed feeds the entire Lahore by providing fresh vegetables. According to the local citizens of the area, the private contractors of the project have started the construction process on the land without giving any compensation to the landowners.

The Ravi Riverfront Urban Development project was launched to address urban challenges like overpopulation and falling living standards in Lahore. The main aim of the project is to form a well-planned city along the river Ravi to promote a clean, green, and secure future. Despite so much importance, the project has been considered a controversial real estate project due to its administrative authority’s structure, how land is being procured, and the compensation model for existing landowners. Last year, the Supreme Court announced the project was illegal due to several provisions for the project that have been declared to be unconstitutional and against the fundamental rights of the citizens.

Recently, the landowners have claimed that for the RRUD project, the contractors have occupied one of the significant farmland of the city which could cause loss to a large number of the country’s crops. Currently, the country is facing an agriculture crisis due to the loss of the country’s one-third crops. In such conditions, destroying farmland for urban infrastructure development will contribute more to the loss. However, for such development purposes, the government needs to occupy vacant land that could not contribute to any kind of agricultural activity.

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IMARAT Institute of Policy Studies

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