April 20, 2006	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 21, 1427

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

LAHORE, April 19: The Punjab Planning and Development Board on Wednesday approved an eight-year investment plan for the restoration of Lahore’s Mughal Fort and Shalamar Gardens, committing more funds than were demanded by the archaeology department for the purpose.

The archaeology department had put for approval two separate plans, PC-1s, for the monuments which it intended to restore over the next eight to 10 years. It demanded Rs300 million for each project.

Official sources informed Dawn that the P&D had initially approved Rs30 million for the restoration of the fort and Rs500 million for Shalamar Gardens during the current and next fiscal years.

It said it was not necessary to approve the Rs600 million cost estimated by the archaeology department in one go. If required, more funds would be released for the purpose.

The board constituted a steering committee for approving funds for the projects every year, rather than seeking approval of the provincial working party for the purpose. The committee would be headed by the P&D chairman and comprise all the stakeholders, including representatives of the information and archaeology departments, donor agencies and public.

It said renovation would be done by the provincial archaeology department and the funds would be released by the finance department after an approval by the steering committee every year.

Sources said out of the Rs500 million approved for the Shalamar Gardens, Rs450 million would be spent on constructing a drainage outside its outer walls to protect them from the underground seeped water of the localities around the monument.

The biggest threat to the Shalamar Gardens was the underground water and if a drainage system was not built around the monument its wall would collapse soon.

Sources said the drainage would be built by Wasa after which restoration of the main Shalamar Garden would be started.