LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) has urged the Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif to shelve the Lahore Development Authority’s plan to convert Kahna Kacha Industrial area into a residential society saying that it would snatch the jobs of thousands of industrial workers but hundreds of industrialists would also be bankrupt.
These views were expressed by the LCCI President Abdul Basit while talking to the delegation of Kahna Kacha Industrial Area led by Mahmood Akhter. The LCCi Vice President Muhammad Nasir Hameed Khan also spoke on the occasion. Executive Committee Member Shahid Nazir was also present on the occasion. Abdul Basit said that priority to residential colonies over industrial area is a matter of concern for the business community.
“Chief Minister Punjab and MNA Pervez Malik should take immediate notice of the LDA move as it is a bad policy decision that is bound to hit directly to the economy of Punjab applying reverse gear to the government efforts aimed at progress and prosperity. It would also bring down the graph of government popularity therefore Chief Minister Punjab should shelve the plan of sacrificing the Kahna Kacha Industrial Estate for the sake of residential scheme as this initiative would result in dire consequences”, the LCCI President added.
He said that not only the industry but government would also be the looser as closure of hundreds of industrial units of Kahna Kacha Industrial Estates would cause huge loses to the national exchequer in term of taxes and utility bills etc. Punjab Government should well aware of the fact that residential colonies cannot be important than industrial clusters.”
He said that it is the worst usage of Land Acquisition Act 1894 which is now eating up Kahna Kacha Industrial Estate where over hundreds industrial units are not only providing employment to the thousands workers but also bringing in precious foreign exchange.
Abdul Basit said that industrial estates and free zones always attract local and foreign investment and contribute in economic development of any country. These make a vital contribution to the national exports besides generate huge employment opportunities. He said that Pakistan had already lost a number of international markets while the condition of both local and foreign investment is also precarious. In the present scenario when country is struggling to enhance exports, collapse of Kahna Kacha Industrial Estate would further aggravate the situation.
The LCCI President said that Lahore Development Authority (LDA) have never bothered to take business community on board and started serving notice to the industrialists of Kahna Kacha Industrial Estate. He said that this act of Lahore Development Authority would waste the investment of billions rupees and turn the industrial units of Kahna Kacha Industrial Estate into derrises of heap which would not raise the graph of unemployment but would also discourage the local investors and they would be compelled to shift their businesses to the other countries. He said that foreign investor would also loose their interest and shelve their plans to start businesses in Punjab.
The LCCI Vice President Muhammad Nasir Hameed Khan feared a surge in street crimes because of unemployment, saying that law and order situation is bound to aggravate if Lahore Development Authority implements its plan forcefully.
He urged the Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif and MNA Pervez Malik to take notice of this grave situation and act promptly to save the industry of Kahna Kacha Industrial estate and social fabric of Punjab.
