Law: Punjab Land Use (Classification, Reclassification and Redevelopment) Rules, 2009

Section: 60,65(2),67(1),67(2)

Law: Constitution of Pakistan, 1973

Section: 24

Punjab Land Use (Classification, Reclassification and Redevelopment) Rules, 2009 [since repealed]--- ----Rr.60, 65(2), 67(1) & 67(2)---Constitution of Pakistan, Art.24---Constitutional petition---Demand of payment of conversion fee, challenge to---Properties of petitioners facing/abutting roads notified as List-A ---Effect---Plea that it confers automatic conversion thus demand for conversion fee was unjustified---Legality--Facts: The petitioners owned/occupied properties stated to be facing or abutting roads notified as List-A under notification dated 30.06.2011 (issued under the Punjab Land Use (Classification, Reclassification and Redevelopment) Rules, 2009, later substituted by the 2020 Rules), whereby, future commercial activity was made permissible by virtue of that very notification, therefore they agitated that they were not liable to pay the conversion fee; through filing of present constitutional petition they challenged the municipal/local government demand requiring payment of conversion/commercialization fee for using (or intending to use) those properties for commercial purposes---Issue: Whether a commercialization/conversion fee can be charged on a property abutting a notified List-A road? ---Held: Claim of absolute privilege to make use of the properties for commercial purposes without payment of conversion fee was not spelled out from the notification dated 30.06.2011---Properties, abutting / facing list-A category roads, were declared eligible for potential commercial use not per se by virtue of declaration but subject to payment of conversion fee---Pertinent question was whether mere declaration, through notification, changed the legal character of the properties in question ; No; mere declaration of notified roads did not alter the legal character of each property specifically but it simply defined the eligibility benchmark, vis- -vis properties qualified for carrying commercial activity subject to the payment of conversion fee---In essence, declaration of roads in list-A for future commercial use removed planning prohibitions and restrictions, that previously existed in the context of commercial use of properties and subjected it to…