LAHORE: Following the flooding of the Kalma Chowk underpass with rainwater, the Lahore High Court issued a halts projects within the Central Business District (CBD) and has opened an inquiry against the CEO of the Punjab Central Business District Development Authority.

A report on the water buildup in the underpass connecting the business area was delivered during the court proceedings by the legal representative for the CBD. Justice Shahid Karim, however, rejected the report and voiced his displeasure with providing large funding for CBD halts projects.

The judge expressed displeasure about the business district’s and its projects’ disorganized launch. Also, the government uses hundreds of millions of rupees in taxpayer money.

Justice Karim observed that while the investigation examined the duties of numerous officials, it did not touch on CEO’s responsibilities. He emphasized that the Kalma Chowk underpass, built by the CBD and experienced flooding during the first rain after it opened, did not encounter these problems in contrast to others built by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), which did.

The judge also acknowledged the harm of rain to homes close to the CBD. He ordered the deputy commissioner to see that the affected citizens receive compensation.

The caretaker CM established an inquiry committee to look into the underpass flooding, the CBD lawyer said to the court. The attorney asked the judge to refrain from stopping construction in the business district to prevent cost increases.

Justice Karim, however, turned down the plea and said the court would reevaluate its choice after reading the inquiry report. In addition, he gave the go-ahead for an investigation against the CBD CEO. It is under the direction of the provincial secretary of the concerned department.

The judge postponed the hearing until a date in September. Significantly, the judge had observed the rainwater buildup during the city’s first rainy spell in the freshly built Kalma underpass.