ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday issued stern warning to provincial governments to remove within six weeks the encroachments that have disfigured historical monuments in the country.

On a suo motu, a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Jawwad S. Khwaja took up the issue of encroachments around the archeological heritage in different cities. The bench also stressed the need to maintain these sites to attract tourists.

Except for Sindh, the three provincial governments submitted reports on which the bench issued orders regarding early removal of the encroachments. The Punjab government conceded presence of encroachments inside the 16th-century Rohtas Force. It said an inspection conducted by the chief secretary had found a good number of encroachments inside the fort. It said a decision had been taken to remove encroachments from all the 124 historical monuments in Lahore.

The archaeology department had also prepared a report a few years ago showing that 3,220 encroachments had disfigured the historical monuments in Lahore alone, despite the fact that these were protected under the Antiquity Act 1975 and the Punjab Special Premises (Perseveration) Ordinance 1985. The report said Lahore Fort was threatened by 231 encroachments while 394 encroachments were built around the Tomb of Jehangir, Akbari Sarai and Mosque and Asif Khan Tomb.

The southern side of the 16th century Badshai Mosque was also not spared and there were 11 encroachments.
Referring to the illegal construction of a five-storey plaza between Kashmiri Gate and the Sheeranwala Gate, the court allowed the authorities to pull down the structure which the owners said was a godown situated five feet outside the citadel city.

Director General of the archeology department Dr Fazal Dad Kakar contradicted the claim of the Balochistan government that Mir Chakar Khan Rind Fort was situated on private land. He informed the court that the fort was built on state land and threatened by encroachments. The court ordered the DCO concerned to appear in the court along with the revenue records about the fort.

The court directed the NWFP government to remove a government sponsored wedding hall from inside the Gore Ghatri archeological site.

The court had earlier sought a report from Sindh on the presence of encroachments inside Makli Graveyard in Thatta, Pucca Qila Hyderabad, Umar Kot, Mian Yar Mohammad Kalhoro tomb and many other places.

Meanwhile, the bench ordered the DCO of Lahore to halt construction on a plot adjacent to a Hindu temple built in the year 1916 in the Azam Cloth Market.

Ahmad Kamal, TMO Ravi Town, informed the court that the chairman Evacuee Trust Board Asif Hashmi had leased out an area adjacent to the temple on the condition that the lessee shall renovate the Mandar and would raise construction on the plot adjacent to it.

He said Rs0.7 million had been spent on building the three-storey plaza on three marla out of a total five
marlas.