ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its ruling in the Orange Line Metro Train case, but asked the Punjab government to submit a comprehensive report after seeking expert opinion to allay the fears of its opponents.
A five-judge bench headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan closed the hearing after renowned architect Kamil Khan Mumtaz argued that the Nespak’s consultancy report was based on assumptions, since no study had ever been carried out to ascertain the damage caused to the foundations and the building material of heritage sites.
The argument somewhat resonated with Justice Khan, who observed that since Nespak had an interest in the project, its independence had been compromised.
But Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan highlighted the need for constant monitoring on a day-to-day basis by a team of experts from the archaeology department to determine the effects of the vibration on the historical monuments.
On Monday, Nespak’s lawyer Shahid Hamid admitted that the Rs100 million allocated by the Punjab government for the restoration of historical sites was “peanuts”, but hastened to add that a heritage fund of Rs600 million was also available for the preservation and restoration of five monuments — Shalimar Gardens, Gulabi Bagh Gateway, Buddhu ka Awa, Chauburji, Zebunnisa’s Tomb and Lakhsmi building.
Nespak lawyer admits opponents’ concerns are genuine
The restoration, he said, would be along the lines of the work done on the Shahi Hamam and Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore, which were restored with the assistance of the Aga Khan Foundation at the cost of Rs80 million and Rs550 million, respectively.
“We will go beyond that and the Shalimar Gardens will look as good as Lahore’s Iqbal Park,” the counsel assured the court, referring to the park that houses the Minar-i-Pakistan.
But when he claimed that the total amount allocated could not be considered “peanuts”, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed observed, tongue-in-cheek, that it had slightly increased to “chestnuts”.
The counsel also admitted that most of the concerns raised by the project’s opponents were genuine and needed to be addressed.
LDA counsel Khawaja Haris told the bench that the provincial government was writing to the Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan — which specialises in restoration work — to monitor the effects of vibration on the historic sites during the project’s development.
Local experts had managed to convince Unesco that no harm would come to the Shalimar Gardens during construction of the Orange Line project, he said.
Admitting that the effects of vibration were not being monitored at any point where construction was ongoing, he claimed that no damage to any such building had ever been reported.
In his presentation to the court, Kamil Khan Mumtaz argued that the metro in New Delhi was laid underground for one reason: to protect historical monuments such as the Jamia Mosque and Delhi Fort.
He warned against any action that would alter the characteristics of a historic property, adding that vibrations were a greater threat to the monuments during the construction phase.
Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2017
