Lahore Division

Lahore | Faisal Salharia ReNews Pakistan
Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) Chief Executive Officer Engineer Ramzan Butt has said there are now no “no-go areas” for the company when it comes to electricity theft or bill recovery, while the recovery rate has reached 101% and overbilling has been eliminated.
Speaking to the media during a visit to the Lahore Press Club, Butt said LESCO has also started recovering Rs93 billion in outstanding dues that had remained unpaid for nearly a decade.
According to him, the amount is owed by various defaulters, including major industrial consumers, and recovery proceedings are now underway.
Butt said eliminating overbilling, achieving full recovery and improving services for consumers remain among LESCO’s key priorities, adding that significant progress has been made in these areas.
He also announced a complete ban on the private repair of transformers, saying transformers damaged due to excessive load are being replaced.
The LESCO chief further warned that if electricity remains suspended in any area for more than four to five hours, the concerned officer will be held responsible.
On the occasion, Lahore Press Club President Arshad Ansari welcomed Ramzan Butt and appreciated LESCO’s efforts to address consumer complaints, expressing hope that practical measures would continue to resolve electricity related problems faced by the public.

Lahore | ReNews Pakistan
Property buyers across Punjab can now check the legal status of housing societies online before purchasing a plot or house, as the provincial government expands its digital verification system aimed at improving transparency and reducing fraud in the real estate market.
The facility is available through the Punjab Land Records Authority's Housing Societies Management System (HSMS), which provides citizens with an online directory for conducting an initial verification of housing schemes operating across the province.
Through PLRA's official housing society directory, prospective buyers can search for a scheme by selecting the relevant authority, division, district, tehsil and housing society name. Available records can then provide information about the scheme, including its legal classification.
The initiative is particularly significant for property buyers who previously had to rely heavily on information supplied by developers, dealers or housing societies themselves when determining whether a project had the necessary approvals.
However, the online directory represents only one component of a broader restructuring of Punjab's property registration and housing-society management system.
Earlier in 2026, the Punjab government moved towards bringing private housing societies under a unified digital verification framework through HSMS. The reforms are intended to reduce dependence on the traditional "file" system under which property rights and transactions were frequently represented through documents issued by developers rather than through a centralised government-backed ownership record.
Under the new framework, property transactions are increasingly being linked with verified plot locations and records maintained through PLRA.
The transition has moved particularly rapidly in Lahore.
Housing societies falling within the jurisdiction of the Lahore Development Authority were directed to transfer and integrate their property records with PLRA's HSMS by June 30, 2026.
From July 1, the new system effectively shifted plot transactions in participating Lahore housing schemes towards PLRA backed property certificates instead of the conventional developer issued file system.
The reform is designed to create a more traceable record of property ownership and transactions while reducing risks associated with duplicate files, fraudulent allotments, disputed ownership and the sale of plots whose physical location or regulatory status may be unclear.
The Punjab Land Records Authority is well positioned to operate the system because it already manages much of the province's digitised land record infrastructure.
Established under the Punjab Land Records Authority Act 2017 and operating under the Board of Revenue Punjab, PLRA was created as part of the province's transition from traditional manual land records towards a centralised digital system.
The authority has subsequently expanded its role in property documentation and has been working towards bringing private housing society records within a more formal registration and verification framework.
The latest online facility could provide an important additional layer of protection for people considering investments in housing projects, particularly in a market where questions surrounding approvals, land ownership, layout plans and no-objection certificates can substantially affect the value and legality of a property.
The system, however, should not be treated as a complete substitute for legal due diligence.
An online search can provide buyers with an initial indication of a housing society's status, but purchasers should still verify ownership documents, approved layout plans, relevant NOCs, registration records and the title and status of the underlying land.
For high-value transactions, independent legal verification remains particularly important.
The introduction of the searchable directory therefore gives buyers an additional screening mechanism before they hand over money to a developer, property dealer or seller.
A society appearing in the official database can provide useful information for further investigation, while an absent, incomplete or unclear record should prompt buyers to seek additional verification from the relevant development authority and PLRA before proceeding with a transaction.
The development also signals a broader change in Punjab's real estate market. As housing societies become increasingly integrated with PLRA's digital infrastructure, government-backed property records and certificates are expected to assume greater importance in transactions that have traditionally depended heavily on developer maintained records.
For buyers, the practical message is straightforward: checking the official digital record should now become one of the first steps before purchasing a plot or house in a private housing scheme in Punjab.

Lahore : ReNews Pakistan
The Lahore Development Authority has sealed a total of 80 properties across different parts of the city in a major operation against illegal commercial use and non-payment of commercialisation fees.
Acting on the directions of LDA Director General Tahir Farooq, teams from the Town Planning Wing carried out enforcement operations in areas falling under the authority’s controlled jurisdiction. The action covered Gulberg, Model Town Extension, Canal Road, Shadman, New Muslim Town, Poonch Road and Mustafa Town, where residential and commercial properties were inspected for regulatory violations.
According to the LDA, 25 properties were sealed in Gulberg and Model Town Extension for being used for unauthorised commercial purposes.
Another 47 properties were sealed on Canal Road, in Shadman, New Muslim Town and Poonch Road over illegal commercial use and failure to pay outstanding commercialisation fees.
In a separate recovery operation in Mustafa Town, Town Planning Wing teams sealed eight additional properties for non-payment of dues, bringing the total number of sealed properties to 80.
The LDA said the sealed premises included private schools, clinics, beauty salons, cafés, restaurants, food outlets, grocery stores, hardware stores, pharmacies, shops, showrooms, offices and other commercial establishments.
Officials said action was taken against properties where commercial activities were being carried out in violation of the approved land use or where owners had failed to clear outstanding commercialisation charges.
The operation was conducted under the supervision of Chief Town Planner-I Asad-uz-Zaman, with teams from the Town Planning Wing carrying out simultaneous enforcement actions in different areas of the city.
LDA Director General Tahir Farooq said indiscriminate action against illegal commercial buildings and properties with outstanding commercialisation fees would continue across LDA-controlled areas.
He directed the relevant wings to ensure strict enforcement of building and commercialisation regulations and to continue action against violations without discrimination.