The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that paddle courts, a recent sports trend, cannot be constructed in city parks, citing concerns over park environments and inadequate space.
During a hearing on smog mitigation and urban planning, a member of the Judicial Commission highlighted excessive heavy traffic in Lahore after 11 pm and noted the absence of an effective monitoring system. The commission has been directed to oversee traffic points across 46 locations in the city and report on operational improvements.
The court observed that if monitoring had started in February, the current situation would have been much better, adding that starting in October makes it impossible to resolve the problem in a month. The court also pressed for long-term plans beyond February and March to tackle environmental and traffic issues effectively.
The Pakistan Housing Authority (PHA) argued that parks often include sports facilities and cited sections 10 and 16 of the PHA Act to justify paddle courts. PHA lawyers claimed that a standard paddle court requires approximately two kanals of land.
The judge noted that constructing courts on two out of eight kanals could disturb the park environment. The court said paddle courts cannot be allowed in parks and emphasized that revenue cannot be generated by breaking the law. The court also questioned the proliferation of advertising boards across the city.
The LHC stressed that restaurants and other commercial facilities cannot disturb park environments, asking PHA to provide details on space usage for such activities. PHA requested time to check the sites, which the court granted, noting that earlier rulings already regulate restaurant facilities in parks.
