MONTHS of wrangling later, controversy over the Orange Line Metro Train project in Lahore — in particular vis-à-vis its impact on important historical sites — refuses to die down. The latest episode came on Monday, when the Lahore Conservation Society and the Pakistan Civil Society Forum issued a press release alleging that rather than answering concerns raised by Unesco and the International Council on Monuments and Sites on the effect of the project on the Shalamar Gardens, it has presented before the World Heritage Committee prevarications and obfuscations. The press release claims that the authorities have taken the position that the World Heritage Committee has endorsed the train project, but that this assertion is untrue. In addition, the handout contends that the Punjab Mass Transit Authority has been citing domestic laws as an excuse for its delay in carrying out an exhaustive environmental impact assessment for the project, even while flouting the country’s labour, environmental and heritage laws in order to press ahead.

These are serious allegations and, if they contain any grain of truth, would imply considerable damage to the credibility of the provincial government and its vision of development. These claims need an urgent response, especially given the volume of controversy the Orange Line project has stirred up and the fact that the Shalamar Gardens — a centuries-old Mughal-era complex that was included in Unesco’s World Heritage Site list in 1981 — are just one of the several affected heritage sites that invite concern. There is no argument that mass transit systems and development are a pressing need in most of the country’s cities — but these must not come at the expense of erasing past histories and cultural splendours. The Punjab government, having taken the lead in these matters, needs to be absolutely transparent in its decisions and operations. Without that — and without the support of society at large — there is great danger of myopically attempting to cater to future needs at the expense of concern for the past.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2017