Imran Khan's pet project, a $7-billion mega city plan, takes a murky turn

After the British divided Pakistan and India more than seven decades ago, Suleman Mohammad Sajjad Warraich's father received a section of land on the outskirts of Lahore. It was a place to put roots in the new nation. Later on, Warraich and his family filled their 300 collective acres with vegetable plots, marigold gardens, and guava groves.

The property was supposed to pass through generations. But early last year Warraich was told that the government would be acquiring the land. He'd be compensated, and his farm turned into something other than agricultural land. That didn't sit right with him, so he filed a petition opposing the acquisition.

Warraich is among dozens of landowners petitioning against the government's plan to build a megacity from scratch on the banks of the Ravi river, a once-thriving waterway that's been depleted by pollution and dwindling water levels. The $7-billion endeavor would span 46 kilometers (29 miles) and include housing, commercial areas, hospitals and schools - creating a metropolis that could ease pressure on overpopulated Lahore and support its urbanization.

The Ravi Urban Development Authority, a government body created to manage the project, pitches it as a green initiative that will bring in much-needed resources to clean up the river. "The idea is to manage the area properly," says RUDA's Chief Executive Officer Imran Amin.

RUDA aims to build a man-made channel and a series of barrages along the Ravi's path to control its water level, which the authority says will help conserve what limited flow remains and restore Lahore's supply of groundwater. But some opponents are skeptical of those claims and what they see as a land grab by RUDA. The city's high court halted the project last year—one ruling in an ongoing legal fight for the future of the river that could reach Pakistan's Supreme Court.

"This is our property. We don't want to sell it," says Warraich, sitting on a white plastic armchair outside his farmhouse. "They are acquiring our land for a new city" where local residents won't be able to continue farming, he says. "I don't understand this logic."

Pakistan's leaders have been trying to develop the banks of the Ravi for almost a decade and Prime Minister Imran Khan has made the task a priority.

The Ravi river was instrumental to Lahore's development, but today large pockets sit stagnant while other sections have dried up completely. A water-sharing treaty with India has limited its flow, while Pakistan's own mismanagement has exacerbated the problem. For decades, the river has collected untreated sewage from Lahore, as well as industrial and agricultural waste.

In recent years, Pakistan has developed legislation to regulate water use amid warnings that the country will face water scarcity by 2025. According to a government study last year, only 39% of water sources across 29 cities were safe for drinking. Cleaning up the Ravi could help Pakistan forestall an impending water crisis - its basin is home to some 50 million people and the river irrigates about 7 million acres of land.

These short-term solutions, however, will run up against the climate clock.