Caretaker CM Punjab Dismisses Staff of LDA One-Window Cell

Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi conducted a surprise visit to the one-window cell of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and took immediate action following complaints from applicants. The entire staff of the cell was removed as a result. The visit, which took place on Tuesday, prompted the CM to instruct the DG LDA/Commissioner to promptly hire new staff and address the issues within the next 14 days. Expressing his dissatisfaction with the cell’s performance, the CM emphasized the need for LDA’s top management to take swift action against bribery complaints. He stressed the importance of adopting a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption-related matters. During the visit, Mohsin Naqvi personally listened to citizens who had submitted applications months ago but had not seen any progress. The citizens complained about demands for bribes from LDA officers, particularly from the Housing and Town Planning wings. The CM expressed his anger over the poor performance of the cell and instructed that all pending applications be dealt with within the given timeframe. He specifically directed the Additional DG LDA (Housing) to promptly address citizens’ complaints. Following the CM’s departure, the LDA DG called a meeting and replaced the director of the one-window cell. Rafia Nazir was assigned to assume the position. The operating hours of the cell were extended from 2 pm to 5 pm, allowing citizens to submit their applications until 5 pm. The director and staff were instructed to remain in the office even after regular working hours to complete their daily tasks. Until the pending work was cleared, the respective departments of LDA were to continue their tasks until 8 pm. The DG emphasized that the performance of the newly-appointed officers would be closely monitored on a daily basis. Additionally, all directors of LDA’s housing wing were required to be present in the one-window cell for two hours.