ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan today suspended the order of Lahore High Court just six days after the LHC declared the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project (RRUDP) as illegal.
The Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, allowed the Punjab government to resume development 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 apex court gave the ruling that the government can continue work on lands whose owners have been paid compensation. The SC bench further said that it would examine whether an intra-court appeal could be filed against the LHC order or not.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) declared illegal the procurement of land for Ravi River Urban Project under section iv in its decision on Jan 25, 2022. The LHC 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.
