The Lagos State Government on Friday announced that it would commence Physical Planning enforcement on all Tank Farms illegally operating in the state next week.
A statement by Mr Mukaila Sanusi, spokesman of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, said the Commissioner, Dr Idris Salako, made the announcement at a meeting in Alausa.
Salako, according to the statement, was unhappy with the menace of unapproved and illegal operations of several Tank Farms in the state.
The commissioner said such facilities should not operate without a Planning Permit.
He expressed worry over the indiscriminate operations of Tank Farms, which had negatively impacted host communities and rendered residents helpless.
“In most cases, the road capacity is inadequate for the activities of the Tank Farms whose operations have led to the collapse of road infrastructure, rendered critical social amenities such as schools and hospitals inaccessible and created urban squalors of the host communities”.
Salako condemned deliberate neglect of host communities by Tank Farm operators.
He said most operators creating problems were not approved and did not pay taxes to the government.
The commissioner maintained that there was no going back on the plan to start enforcing the extant Physical Planning laws on all erring Tank Farms as from next week since the ultimatum given had lapsed.
The Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development had earlier in the year met with Tank Farm Operators and given them a week ultimatum to regularise their facilities.
This was followed by an additional two weeks ultimatum, a month after.
