2017
18 March 2017
Taxation and Enforcement in Local Government Systems
Speaker: Mahmood Tamanna, Director General Inspection, Local Government
- Urban Forums
Open Dialogue on Lahore Since 2004
PURC’s forums are open to all citizens, local government representatives and planning institutions. Their aim is an informed understanding of development, policy and planning issues through information exchange and debate.
Forum Archive
25 Forums on Record
From water privatisation in 2004 to local government taxation in 2017. Records for 2004–2008 come from PURC’s 2009 website; summaries are shown where PURC’s written record of the discussion survives.
2015
27 May 2015
Present Status of the Walled City Project
Speaker: Kamil Khan Mumtaz, architect, urban planner and conservationist
Discussed how rapid commercialisation is changing land use in the Walled City and threatening its buildings and long-standing residents, and argued that conservation must include the people who live there.
2015
11 April 2015
“Muhallah Bazi”: Problems of Shah Jamal Katchi Abadi
Speaker: Nauman Tufail, architecture graduate, National College of Arts
Presented a thesis study of the Shah Jamal katchi abadi near Ferozepur Road, where water sources are contaminated and there is no public space or nearby girls’ school, with a planning proposal to free up ground-level space for community use.
2015
28 March 2015
Development of Lahore and the Perspective of Concerned Citizens
Speaker: Rafay Alam and Fahad Malik, lawyers
Questioned a development approach built on road widening, signal-free corridors and elevated expressways, and its departure from the Lahore Master Plan.
2015
17 January 2015
Community Development Network
Speaker: Zahid Makhdoom, Research Assistant, PURC
Shared key notes from a Community Development Network meeting in Karachi, including examples of communities building their own sewerage and parents taking charge of local schools in Punjab towns.
2014
1 November 2014
School Council Activation Strategy in Punjab
Speaker: Atif Hassan, social development specialist
Presented experience with school councils in Punjab, which PURC explored as a model for citizens’ councils to improve water, sanitation and solid waste services in Lahore.
2014
23 August 2014
Cattle Markets and the New Management Company
Speaker: Ammar Ahmad, GIS analyst, Punjab Information Technology Board
Compared local governments’ cattle-market arrangements with the Punjab government’s 2014 plan for a Cattle Market Management Company, and raised concerns that market stakeholders had not been consulted.
2014
5 April 2014
Punjab Local Government Act 2013 and the Lahore Governance Model
Speaker: Rafay Alam, lawyer and environmental activist
Explained key clauses of the Act and discussed the role of local government in a city increasingly run through public companies.
2014
22 March 2014
Adoption of the Turkish Model in Lahore
Speaker: Dr. Imdad Hussain, Director, PURC
2014
1 March 2014
Yadgar Signal-Free Corridor: Citizen Perspective
Speaker: Madiha Asif, Research Associate, PURC
Presented research, drawing on news clippings, observation and interviews, on the Azadi Chowk Interchange and New Circular Road project and the hospital, markets, homes and public spaces it affected.
2014
22 February 2014
Culture and Development
Speaker: Dr. Imdad Hussain, Director, PURC
Shared observations from a visit to India on public services, transport, heritage conservation and public attitudes to politicians.
2014
15 February 2014
WASH Situation in Lahore
Speaker: Atif Hassan, President, MUAWIN
Reviewed water, sanitation and solid waste services in Lahore using secondary data and key-informant interviews, and proposed measures from protecting water sources and treating wastewater to recycling and stronger regulation.
2014
25 January 2014
Lahore Development Scenario, Roads and Flyovers: Citizen Perspective
Speaker: Amir Butt, Coordinator, PURC
Weighed public spending on roads, flyovers and underpasses in Lahore against basic services such as water supply, solid waste, public transport and housing, noting that about half of all trips in the city are made on foot.
2008
February 2008
WASA: Understanding Operations and Maintenance at the Sub-Division Level
2007
September 2007
Issues of Lahore Water Supply and Sewerage System
2007
January 2007
Sabzazar Cattle Market and Slaughter House
2006
July 2006
Two-Stroke Rickshaws
2006
May 2006
World Water Forum 4, Mexico
2005
10 June 2005
Lahore Ring Road
2005
February 2005
WASA Lahore Privatisation
2004
October 2004
Water Privatisation
Undated
Date not recorded
Development Projects and Legal Reservations
Speaker: Saad Rasool, advocate
Undated
Date not recorded
Land Acquisition Act 1894
Speaker: Awais Malik
Undated
Date not recorded
Saaf Pani Company
Speaker: Atif Hassan
Undated
Date not recorded
Local Government
Speaker: Zahid Islam
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