TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sr No. Section Page No

1 Introduction 3

2 Project Area

3 Master plans of Ruda

4 Negative aspects of Ruda

5 Planning aspects of Ruds

6 Funding of project

7 Problematic areas of Ruda

8 Sustainability of project Ruda

9 Swot analysis

10 Sensitive areas and analysis

11 Challenges before starting project

12 Ruda management

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 1. Introduction of Ruda
Ravi Riverfront City Lahore is a 100% Government-
approved project developing by RUDA located at the bank of Ravi River in Lahore, close to
the Shahdara Reserve Forest. The 5 Trillion Rupees project is envisioned by the Prime
Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, as one of the largest sustainable urban projects in the
world. He inaugurated the River Ravi Urban Development project (RRURDP) on August
07, 2020, and laid the foundation stone on September 15, 2020.
The Ravi Urban Development Project is a one-of-its-kind project in the world spanning over
46 Km. It wouldn’t be wrong to declare that it is the time for Ravi City. The newly developing
Ravi City in Lahore has a goal of tackling the issue of overpopulation in Lahore, traffic
congestions on a daily basis, water issues, and last but not least, the annual flooding due to
torrential rains.
The Ravi river urban development authority is under development mega project in Lahore
District, Punjab, Pakistan that runs along the Ravi River in a northeast to southwest
direction. It includes the construction of a 41,308-hectare (102,074-acre) planned ci
ty and the rehabilitation of the Ravi River into a perennial freshwater body. The project is to
be completed in three phases. It is expected to be the largest river front of the world when
finished.

Second name of project RUDA

CHAHAR BAGH
CHAHAR BAGH ‫ چہ==ار ب==اغ‬CHAHĀR BĀGH, MEANING "FOUR GARDENS" IS A
PERSIAN QUADRILATERAL GARDEN LAYOUT BASED ON THE “FOUR GARDENS
OF PARADISE” MENTIONED IN THE HOLY QURAN.
The community takes its historical name from the Mughal era, perfectly blending our
traditional past with the concept of contemporary & modern living. It’s the Ravi Urban
Development Authority’s (RUDA) inaugural project, consisting of cutting-edge mixed use
and commercial complexes. Exclusive Villas, Sky rises, mid rises, Condominiums, Apartment
buildings and Commercial Complexes makes it the first of its kind. The community offers you
economical, highly secured and swift connectivity to the basic necessities of sustainable
living. In the first phase, Chahar Bagh offers 1 canal & 10 Marla plots. Furthermore, planning
to extend our infrastructure more dynamically as per contemporary advanced trends, in the
future.

History
An idea dating back 75 years
The idea of an urban development on the Ravi riverfront was first suggested in 1947 by the
then Deputy Commissioner of Lahore. In 2013, the Government of Punjab began considering
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the project, which was initially planned to span over 18,000 hectares (44,000 acres). In
2014, Lahore Development Authority hired Singapore based architectural firm Meinhardt
Group to run a feasibility study on the Ravi River for the development of the project.
The project was inaugurated on 7 August 2020 by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran
Khan, and construction began in December 2020.As of January 2021, it had attracted US$8
billion in foreign investment.

The provincial judiciary and Supreme Court have been at odds when it comes to
judgments regarding RRUDP .On January 25, the Lahore High Court (LHC) scrapped the
RRUDP, declaring several provisions of the Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA)
Act 2020 unconstitutional. In an uncharacteristically quick-fire response, just six days
later, the Supreme Court suspended the LHC's initial order to halt the RRUDP
until RUDA rectified and amended their legal lacunas. The RRUDP has, in effect, been
given the green light for implementation, which has garnered criticism from
environmentalists, human rights activists and the farming community that reside along
the Ravi River

The client: The Lahore Development Authority (LDA), is inviting reputable

international firms (consortium/joint ventures) to submit Expressions of Interest
(EOI) for the “Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project”. The project site
is located in the districts of Lahore and Sheikhupura in Punjab province.
Lahore is Pakistan’s second largest city with a population close to eleven
million people. As the capital of the province of Punjab (population
approximately 110 million people) and a regional urban center of key
commercial, financial, industrial and socio-cultural significance, Lahore is faced
with a number of challenges as a growing metropolis – unplanned growth,
competing land uses, congestion, pollution etc. Over the years, the lack of
appropriate planning initiatives has resulted in the viability of various
development projects being compromised in the long run.

The Ravi, which originates in India flows in a northeast - southwest direction

and constitutes Lahore city’s northern and western boundaries. In view of the
city’s projected expansion towards the south and the west in the long run, the
Government of Punjab plans to carry out riverfront (and urban) development on
both sides of the Ravi riverbank along a 33 km long stretch that is contiguous to
Lahore district’s northern and western boundaries.

The overall scope of the proposed project entails:

i. Update the strategic development plan.

ii. Update the feasibility study of proposed strategic development plan,
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 including proposed cities.
iii. Preparation of financial models for investment, funding from government
and/or others.
iv. Detailed engineering design of river training, hydraulic and urban
infrastructure.
v. Preparation of procurement documents for international bidding.
vi. Assist the client in approval of procurement documents with government
& donor agencies, obtaining NOC(s), and other legal proceedings.

The Project Area

In north:
Starting 5 Km downstream from Syphon to Pakhiyala Villege towards Kala Shah
Kaku Interchange and further towards M-2 Interchange

In West:
M-2 Interchange towards Lahore Sheikhupura Faisalabad Road (Near Javaid
Nagar) which further extends towards Jaranwala Road (Near Langiyan da
Thattha), then after, it travels along Jaranwala Road till Sharqpur City where
Upper Chennab Canal falls in Ravi River.

In South:
Upper Chennab Canal falls in Ravi River and connecting with Hudiara Drain at
Sukh Chayn Garden Housing Scheme at Multan Road.

In East:
Area running along left side of Multan Road from Sukh Chayn Garden Housing
Scheme to Thokar Niaz Baig M-2 Motorway Interchange which runs along till
Babu Sabu Toll Plaza.
From babu Sabu Toll Plaza Run area runs along left side of Bund Road till Saggia
wala bridge at Lahore Ring Road (LRR-20) which further travels along it towards
Quaid-e-Azam Interchange LRR and upto BRB.
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The project area is broadly divided into 2 zones as delimited by the flood
containment zone and the riverfront development zone. At a divisional level,
Lahore is the most urbanized and the most populated district compared with its
neighbors - Sheikhupura and Kasur districts, which are twice as large. The built-up
ratio to open land in Lahore is approximately 50%, whereas the cumulative built-
up ratio in the remaining districts is less than 10%. In this respect, the proposed
project site is expected to bridge the gap between Lahore’s expansion towards the
west and the district of Sheikhupura.

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 Figure 1: limits of the project area in the regional context

The province of Punjab is administratively divided into 9 divisions. Lahore Division

comprises the districts of Lahore (1,772 sq. km), Sheikhupura (5,960 sq. km), Kasur
(3,995 sq. km) and Nankana. Area of the districts (in sq. km) are obtained from the
1998 census report.

Project Scope

The overall scope of the proposed project entails:

1. Preparation of the inception report of the project which includes WBS which will detail
out the project schedule with milestones, timelines, deliverables, approach and
methodology and the expertise involved.
2. Review & Update the Strategic Development Plan (SDP) specifically with respect to
land-use planning & sector development control guidelines & Transportation Plan in
phase-1 of the feasibility report of Ravi Riverfront Urban Development project prepared
by the M/s Meinhardt in 2014.
3. Layout plan of detailed urban design of Zone-02 in Phase-1 of Project with detailed

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 sector control guidelines as well as building control guidelines.
4. Develop concept level design of smart cities composed of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) and Internet of Things (IOT) for development and
deployment of smart cities components in RRUDP to promote socio-economic
development, improve infrastructure & environment.
5.
Rationale for the Study

The Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project (RRUDP) is aimed to rehabilitate and develop
the dying River Ravi into a perennial fresh water body, with high quality waterfront urban
development on reclaimed and adjoining lands, envisioning this as the center of a regional urban
agglomeration of about 10 million population. In order to implement the project on ground, the
feasibility conducted by the consultant in 2015 was studied and observed that, the several
component of the project needs to be updated and require detailed urban planning and design.
Strategic Development Plan (SDP) of RRUDP, has planned twelve thematic cities with broad
land uses and urban development guidelines etc. wherein the scale of urban planning of these
cities was at macro level and only dictate the broad land uses. The detailed layout urban designs
of zones/sectors at development plot level was not prepared, because this component has to be
covered in third phase of the project “Detailed Designing and Procurement Documents” which
was not performed and remained halted.
The intention of the study is also to:
i. Review & Update the Strategic Development Plan (SDP) specifically with respect to
land-use planning & sector development control guidelines & transportation plan in
phase-1 of the feasibility report of Ravi Riverfront Urban Development project prepared
by the M/s Meinhardt in 2014.
ii. Detailed layout plan of urban design of Zone-02 in Phase-1 of Project with detailed
sector control guidelines as well as building control guidelines.
iii. Develop concept level design of smart cities composed of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) and Internet of Things (IOT) for development and
deployment of smart cities components in RRUDP to promote socio-economic
development, improve infrastructure & environment.
iv. Tasks 1) Preparation of inception report. 2) Review and update the strategic
development plan specifically with respect to land-use planning & Transportation Plan.
3) Sector development control/building control guidelines. 4) Layout of detailed urban
design of Zone-02 of the project. 5) Concept level design of smart cities components.

viii. Bidder’s Expertise

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 The consulting firm must be well conversant with the advanced/unconventional techniques and
methodology for preparing comprehensive strategic development plans, land-use planning,
detailed urban design, sector development & building control guidelines and integration of smart
city components composed of information communication technology (ICT) and internet of
things (IOT). The consulting firm must be a multidisciplinary team of professionals and Page 10
of 46 technical personnel. The firm must have the capacity to use different analytical techniques
and software; and must demonstrate past experience of conducting similar studies for large cities
or city regions. The local consulting firms registered with PCATP and PEC forming consortiums
with reputable international firms will be preferred.

Master plan of Ruda project

The River Ravi in Pakistan is in a highly deteriorated state. The people of the River Ravi Basin
have a different vision for its future. Much improvement can be achieved through water
treatment and river restoration, but people and organizations must do their part to care for the
River Ravi. TheRiver Ravi Eco-Revitalization Master Plan is a detailed road map for achieving
the collective vision.
A long-term, holistic, and multisector plan to revitalize and build resilience in the ecosystem of
the River Ravi Basin, including recommendations for investment projects and institutional
reforms. A key part of the strategy for realizing the vision for the River Ravi Basin is the
progressive eco-revitalization of the River Ravi and its nullahs through physical improvements of
the channels and in-channel habitats to restore/enhance the health of the ecosystem, combined
with appropriate landscaping, and upgrading of buildings, access, and facilities to allow
residents to reconnect with the natural aquatic features of the basin. The master plan
recognizes that no end value can be realized without human creativity, investment, or time.
Ravi Riverfront City Lahore Master Plan:
Ravi Riverfront City Lahore was originally proposed by the Punjab Government in 2013 with the
idea of urban development stretching over an area of 44,000 acres. The aim was to relieve
Lahore off of the overpopulation stress.

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 The project is planned to be built on 43Km land that will be 70% covered with greenery. The rest
will offer the construction. The idea was taken from the riverside development on the pattern of
River Thames, London as well as Dubai.
Ravi Riverfront City Districts:
The project, after its development, will offer the residential option to almost 35 million people
with a number of jobs and business opportunities. The Ravi City Lahore is divided into 12
districts such as follows:
1. Medical District
2. Mix-use District
3. Residential District
4. Urban Farms District
5. Downtown District
6. Innovation District
7. Financial District
8. Central District
9. Tourism District
10. Sports District
11. Knowledge District
12. Commercial District

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 The Ravi City consists of several phases as follows:
 Ravi City Phase I (45,000 acres)
 Ravi City Phase II (34,000 acres)
 Ravi City Phase III (24,000 acres)
As per the sources, almost 14 thousand Kanal land will be acquired in the project’s first phase,
and eventually, 600,000 Kanal will be developed in Ravi City. The land comes under the Mouza
of Ferozwala and 32 others.
A 33km long concrete channel will be built on the Ravi River along with the development of
greenery on a huge land area. The project will offer 1.4 million residential units. New roads,
piers, bridges, and three barrages will also be part of the plan.
The barrages will have the capacity to store 271 billion of water. On the parallel side, water
treatment plants will also be built to make the river clean. The waste treatment plants are also
part of the project. Preservation of natural habitat is a top priority of the RUDA.
The aim of the project is as follows:
 Improve tourism
 Uplift the economy
 Betterment of quality of life
 Job and business opportunities

How the plan will promote scale and spread of the benefits:
Improving the quality of water flowing through the basin.
Recreating natural functioning, clean habitats to support a diverse array of animal and plants
(biodiversity).
Integrating agricultural fields into revitalization initiatives. Promoting public–private partnerships,
including community ownership.
Recreating attractive landscapes and recovered spaces along the river banks, providing
environment- and human-friendly opportunities for recreation.

Annual activities such as art competitions, fairs, marathons, and off-road cycle races linked with
the upgraded sections of the rivers.
Providing healthy parks and play areas for children and parents.
Integrating commercial areas, with retail outlets and food streets, into revitalization projects.
Providing appropriate, sufficient parking and toilet facilities.

RIVER RAVI ECOSYSTEM REVITALIZATION MODEL

The master plan is grounded in science to provide the evidence basis for decision-making. The
unique complexity and interconnectivity of the River Ravi network required detailed, tailored
modeling to:

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IDENTIFY the driving processes and functioning of the Ravi Basin rivers and nullahs.
UNDERSTAND their implications for the river’s ecosystem—its condition, future threats, risks to
public health, recreational potential, and cultural value.
ASSESS how various interventions, options, and scenarios might help deliver on the collective
vision for eco-revitalization and the visions for individual settings in the River Ravi Basin.

A team of Pakistani and international experts developed the River Ravi Eco-Revitalization
Model—a streamlined dynamic ecosystem model covering the main River Ravi from its
headwaters through to the smallest nullahs. The model was built using state-of-art software
(DRIFT-- https://www.drift-eflows.com/), which uses scientific reasoning and logic to model river
ecosystem responses to natural and human interventions, for example, abstractions,
discharges, bank and bed modifications, and water management. DRIFT has been used widely
in Pakistan as an effective tool for estimating the response of river ecosystems to the sorts of
changes in the key drivers (hydrology, water quality, channel shape, etc.) expected to arise from
the interventions and options that form the basis of the plan for the revitalization of the River
Ravi.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE PLAN

The design of the master plan itself and of each of the initial projects are grounded in the
following convictions: Lasting, sustainable eco-revitalization requires a holistic, “river system”
approach.
• The River Ravi is a network of interconnected waterways, a sum of its parts— not separate
from nullahs.
• What happens in one part of the river, upstream or downstream, affects the whole basin and
everyone in it.

The River Ravi Basin is part of Punjab’s natural heritage, a collective resource to be used and
curated by everyone.
• Everyone plays a vital role in reviving the Ravi; what each person does matters.
• River Ravi eco-revitalization is for everybody and is everybody’s business. A revitalized River

Ravi will recreate intrinsic value that is not necessarily directly linked to human-focused
socioeconomic benefits.
• Natural functioning ecosystems, landscapes, and the biodiversity they support have value in
their own right, not just for human enjoyment or service.

BAD AND GOOD ASPECTS OF RUDA

Farmers in Pakistan have been protesting the Punjab government's pet project, the Ravi
Riverfront Urban Development Project, for the past few weeks.

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The Ravi Riverfront Development Authority launched the project on August 7, 2020,
with the goal of transforming the dying Ravi River into a perennial freshwater river while
also providing high-quality urban development on both sides of the bank.

1. Cost and Investment

 The proposal is mostly influenced by the developments along London's
River Thames.
 It was originally planned to cover 18,000 hectares, but in August 2020, the
updated riverside size was estimated to be 40,000 hectares.
 The initial phase of the RUDP is expected to cost Rs 1 trillion, including
Rs 200 million for land acquisition.

“This project, which was first proposed in 1947 by Lahore's then-Deputy Commissioner,
is expected to attract foreign investors. According to Iftikhar Ali Malik, a member of the
Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA), the Chinese government and several
Chinese firms are interested in investing $3 billion dollars in the project at first. This
investment would rule out any and all types of loans that may be obtained. A Global
Investment Consortium, the ANGCC, has also pledged a $5 billion investment as part of
a cooperation.”

2. The Plight of Farmers

On paper, this project appears to be a dream come true, but for the Punjabi
farmers who own the land along the river's banks, it is nothing short of a

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 nightmare. For decades, the land has been their source of income, and now,
under the Land Acquisition Act, they are being paid peanuts for it. Landowners,
small business owners, workers, and residents in the Ravi Riverfront area have
opted to resist the government's decision to begin the process of forcibly
acquiring private land for the Ravi Riverfront project. Most of them have turned
down the government's offer of Rs. 200,000 per acre, claiming that it is
considerably below the market pricing, which is roughly Rs. 1,250,000 per acre.

The distributed parts are shown in picture.

“Many of the farmers do not appear to be opposed to the project itself, but they do need
a fair market price to help them start over – especially because the private developers
acquiring their land will benefit billions of dollars.”

3. Sustainability of the River Ravi itself

 The project's main focus is on ensuring the long-term viability of the

River Ravi, which runs through the heart of it.
 The project aims to restore and purify the river as well as create a
lake. Farmers and environmentalists disagree on this, because the
river is devoid of water and instead contains a wastewater nullah.

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  This is due to India's decision to close the river's water supply.
Furthermore, over time, the dumping of rubbish from the city into the
riverbed has suffocated river life due to a lack of biological oxygen
need (BOD).
 Every day, around 3,500 cusecs of sewage pollution pollute the
river's pure water.

“According to estimations, PKR 3.5 billion [USD 21 million] is required merely to

clean the water coming from Lahore - this does not include effluent from
Gujranwala, Faisalabad, and other areas, making river clearing very difficult and
expensive.”

4. Floods as a threat to settlements

 India also faces the ongoing threat of releasing water from the two dams
built on the Ravi, resulting in flooding of the riverfront towns.
 Floods along the Ravi occur every three to five years, according to data,
and cover an area of one kilometre on either side.
 Once every 20 years, a flood occurs with a two-kilometer spread on each
side.

The plan envisions a flood embankment area for a once-in-a-100-

year flood, as well as the construction of a costly one-kilometer-
wide, six-kilometer-long wall. There is no floodplain, though, so
the water will have nowhere to go.

5. Impact on the Environmental Aspects

 Another consideration is the project's overall environmental impact. With a

particle matter rating of 423, Lahore is already the world's most polluted
city.
 Smog is mostly generated by pollutants from the transportation sector and
industries, such as the building industry and brick kilns.

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  Such a large-scale development project will undoubtedly have a
considerable carbon footprint.

6. The NAYA Pakistan PROJECT

 One of the most pressing concerns about the project is that it is being built
under the Prime Minister's Pakistan Project.
 It intends to bring a slew of socio-economic benefits to Punjab, the most
crucial of which is inexpensive housing.
 However, with such high levels of foreign investment, it appears that
affordable housing will be limited to the business world and the wealthy.

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 7. LHC Ruling
 The Ravi River Urban Development Authority (RUDA) has been
ordered by the Lahore High Court (LHC) to stop working on the
multibillion-rupee Ravi River Front Urban Development Project until
the Environmental Protection Department issues an Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) (EPD). The investigations are being
overseen by an international consultant.

 There are various features of the project that would be

advantageous, such as the planned health, knowledge, and sports
city, as well as contemporary infrastructure and countless job
prospects.
 On the other hand, the project's environmental impact could be
hazardous and should be thoroughly investigated. Only time will tell
whether this undertaking is a boon or a curse.

Main Challenges of the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project:

The Ravi City project is no doubt a feasible project, but there are some challenges that need to be
overcome. Such as the following:
 Getting the water in the river in the winter season

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 Treatment of waste that is thrown in the river along with dumping of wastewater
 Development of sustainable mechanisms for a sustainable city
 Development of green areas
 Mitigation of flooding
 Some other major challenges include the probable negative impacts such as loss of agricultural
land with an area of 76,000 acres and removal of 20,000 households.

Land grab or river revival? Inside $7

billion Ravi city project
After the British divided Pakistan and India more than seven decades ago,
Suleman Mohammad Sajjad Warraich’s father received a section of land on
the outskirts of Lahore. It was a place to put roots in the new nation. Later on,
Warraich and his family filled their 300 collective acres with vegetable plots,
marigold gardens, and guava groves.

The property was supposed to pass through generations. But early last year
Warraich was told that the government would be acquiring the land. He’d be
compensated, and his farm turned into something other than agricultural land.
That didn’t sit right with him, so he filed a petition opposing the acquisition.

Related Stories
 Ravi project to create jobs, says Hasaan

 LHC declares pleas against Ravi project maintainable

Warraich is among dozens of landowners petitioning against the

government's plan to build a megacity from scratch on the banks of the Ravi
river, a once-thriving waterway that’s been depleted by pollution and
dwindling water levels. The $7-billion endeavor would span 46 kilometers (29
miles) and include housing, commercial areas, hospitals and schools —
creating a metropolis that could ease pressure on overpopulated Lahore and
support its urbanization.

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The Ravi Urban Development Authority, a government body created to
manage the project, pitches it as a green initiative that will bring in much-
needed resources to clean up the river. “The idea is to manage the area
properly,” says RUDA’s Chief Executive Officer Imran Amin.

RUDA aims to build a man-made channel and a series of barrages along the
Ravi’s path to control its water level, which the authority says will help
conserve what limited flow remains and restore Lahore’s supply of
groundwater. But some opponents are skeptical of those claims and what they
see as a land grab by RUDA. The city’s high court halted the project last year
— one ruling in an ongoing legal fight for the future of the river that could
reach Pakistan’s Supreme Court.

“This is our property. We don’t want to sell it,” says Warraich, sitting on a white
plastic armchair outside his farmhouse. “They are acquiring our land for a new
city” where local residents won’t be able to continue farming, he says. “I don’t
understand this logic.”

Pakistan’s leaders have been trying to develop the banks of the Ravi for
almost a decade and Prime Minister Imran Khan has made the task a priority.

The Ravi river was instrumental to Lahore’s development, but today large
pockets sit stagnant while other sections have dried up completely. A water-
sharing treaty with India has limited its flow, while Pakistan’s own
mismanagement has exacerbated the problem. For decades, the river has
collected untreated sewage from Lahore, as well as industrial and agricultural
waste.

In recent years, Pakistan has developed legislation to regulate water use amid
warnings that the country will face water scarcity by 2025. According to a
government study last year, only 39 percent of water sources across 29 cities
were safe for drinking. Cleaning up the Ravi could help Pakistan forestall an
impending water crisis — its basin is home to some 50 million people and the
river irrigates about 7 million acres of land.

These short-term solutions, however, will run up against the climate clock.
Most of Pakistan's rivers are fed by melting snow from glaciers in the

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Himalayas, which are set to shrink as the world heats up. As global average
temperatures rise beyond 2 degrees Celsius — a highly likely scenario based
on current trajectories — the volume of Himalayan glaciers will be halved.

Global warming is set to increase precipitation across Pakistan, but climate

models show the seasonality and intensity of those rains will become less
predictable. That's bad news for farmers given the vast majority of crops
grown in Pakistan are dependent on reliable monsoon patterns. Though
agriculture provides less than 20 percent of the country's gross domestic
product, it employs 40 percent of its labor force.

Pakistan isn’t the first country to try and solve its environmental issues with
more development. Governments have plowed billions of dollars into eco-city
initiatives everywhere from Malaysia to Iceland to simultaneously boost
economic growth and adapt to a warming planet. The projects are marked by
common features including more efficient public transport, green spaces and
wastewater treatment plants,” says Amin.

Pakistan has had some success with planned cities. Its capital, Islamabad,
shares a larger metropolitan area with neighboring Rawalpindi — the way
RUDA says it envisions its city relating to Lahore. The grid structure of
Islamabad is drastically different from other Pakistani cities; traffic and
pollution are better and the city feels orderly in a way Lahore does not.

But critics worry that the new city, which RUDA says will take 12 to 15 years to
build, will replicate Lahore’s problems instead of fixing them — especially its
inequality. They also say the government’s focus on building a new city could
lead to further neglect in parts of Lahore. As the city boomed, it has stretched
west toward the Ravi, spawning packed settlements around the river. The
area’s population density contrasts starkly with growing wealth at the other
end of the city, where single-family houses built on large lots in private
communities extend far enough to almost kiss the border with India.

Lower-income residents in Lahore bear the brunt of the city’s environmental

woes, living in areas with dirty water and bad air. Meanwhile, wealthier
residents are protected in housing developments that operate like private

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businesses with separate water supplies. “It’s a very sad reflection of what has
happened to our city because it has been totally commercialized,” says Fauzia
Qureshi, an architect and urban planner.

The question for residents like Warraich who are being pressured to give up
their land is whether the potential improvements and compensation will be
worth it. To create the proposed city, RUDA would sell land to developers, who
would build on it under the government’s supervision. Opponents argue that
the promised environmental benefits of Ravi City are being used to justify the
government’s exercise of “eminent domain” — giving it the right to claim
private property for public use — on land they fear will actually be used by
private developers for commercial purposes. RUDA’s official land-use master
plan sets aside space for a high-rise residential zone, business district, and
area that will be called Sports City.

“There won’t be any forced acquisition,” says Amin from RUDA. “Unless it’s
important where it’s [a] wastewater treatment plant or something which is
necessary to be placed there and we will try our best” to give current residents
“a fair market price.”

According to Section 45 of the Ravi Urban Development Authority Act, which

outlines RUDA’s powers and functions, the authority may “use such force as
may be necessary” to “eject any person in unauthorized occupation of any
land or property vested in the Authority.” The document also gives RUDA
power “to remove, demolish or alter” any building or structure as needed to
realize development plans. There’s no guarantee that those plans will help
restore the Ravi.

Raising the river’s levels by creating a channel and barrages will have “almost
no impact” on Lahore’s groundwater levels, says Vaqar Zakaria, an
environmental consultant. The city’s water table will keep being depleted
unless groundwater usage by housing developers and factories is regulated,
he says, something that isn’t addressed in RUDA’s proposal. “Those who are
bigger and richer can bore and get the water from the ground and a poor
man can’t afford to do that,” Zakaria says. Ravi City “is going to benefit a small
number of people, and it's not going to add value to the average citizen.”

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Environmentalists have also cast doubt on the other green pillar of the Ravi
City plan: Lahore’s first wastewater treatment plant.

Untreated sewage flows into the Ravi from multiple points, and treating
discharge from one area near the Ravi won’t fix the river’s water quality as a
whole, says Ahmad Rafay Alam, a lawyer and environmental activist. “Nobody
upstream changes their habits and you end up subsidizing pollution.”

Amin argues that housing developments are already being built in Lahore
without environmental approval. If the area near the Ravi isn’t acquired by
RUDA, it would be snapped up by developers who operate with far less
oversight. At least, he says, “we make sure that it is planned according to the
green standards.”

The case against development along the Ravi has been taken up by public
interest litigators and lawyers representing landowners. They argue an
environmental study RUDA presented in court was inadequate, and that the
authority has failed to explain in detail what exactly the 100,000 acres of
acquired land will become. Lawyers say a land-use master plan was only
submitted in court last month.

Advocates also challenge the establishment of the Ravi River Development

Authority, whose sweeping control they say is unconstitutional. The way the
project is progressing is “unprecedented,” says Waqar Sheikh, a lawyer who
argues that RUDA’s development plan doesn’t legally justify government
acquisition of land.

Sheikh argues that it isn’t in the public interest to get rid of agricultural land
since Pakistan already struggles with food shortages. Seventy-five percent of
the Ravi river basin is used for agriculture, according to a study by the Asian
Development Bank, and a large percentage of the city’s vegetables and dairy
supply comes from areas along the Ravi.

RUDA now awaits a judgment from the Lahore High Court. If the project
doesn’t get permission to go ahead, the authority will likely appeal the
decision, sending the case to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, some farmers
have agreed to sell their land after negotiating better payments with RUDA.

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Malik Ghulam Murtaza, a 56-year-old landowner, says he started to see the
development more positively after compensation talks with RUDA. He believes
the price he was offered will be enough to give his family a better life and he’s
convinced the environmental plans will benefit everyone.

Others are still adamantly opposed. Haji Abdul Ghani, 56, is most upset about
giving up cultivatable land, which he worries will be harder to come by. “This is
all agricultural land, and will be lost forever,” he says. “If you really want to
expand, look for barren land where the fertility of the soil doesn’t matter.”

Sitting near their house perched precariously near the river, Karamat Jutt, 26,
and his family say they’ve already lost much of their land to floods last
summer that destroyed an entire settlement. They know the volatility of the
river and changing climate could make things worse, but, for now, their bigger
concern is losing their livelihoods to development.

Warraich remains suspicious of RUDA. He says the agency labeled parts of his
family’s land barren, despite it being viable for farming, and offered less than
what he believes the land is worth. Even if more money was offered, Warraich
says he wouldn’t sell because of the many tenant farmers and workers who
rely on their land for subsistence. “Without justice there is no community,” he
says.

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