LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday directed the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) to impose Rs1,000 fine on those found littering around the heritage sites and also come up with a proposal on construction of a parking plaza in the Walled City.

Justice Ali Akbar Qureshi asked the authority to speed up rehabilitation work of the dilapidated buildings in old Lahore.

WCLA Director General Kamran Lashari was present in the court during hearing of a petition questioning encroachments in the Walled City and around heritage sites like Wazir Khan Mosque.

A report submitted by the authority stated that 247 buildings in the Walled City had been identified as heritage and seven of them had been marked for quick rehabilitation due to their dilapidated condition.

Mr Lashari told the court that at least 1,000 properties, including houses and shops, had been rehabilitated in the last one year. He said 94 streets had been rehabilitated and renovated in line with international standards to improve the living condition of the residents.

“The rehabilitation work has also been done at Delhi, Lohari, Sheranwala and Chitta gates. The government of France is willing to extend its cooperation for the rehabilitation of the area outside Maryam Zamani Mosque, named after mother of Emperor Jahangir. However, the area has been encroached upon by illegal shops,” he said.

Justice Qureshi directed the DG to launch operation against the encroachers and inform the court if it faced any hurdle. The judge directed the city AC to help the authority in the operation.

Petitioner’s counsel Azhar Siddique pointed out that heritage conservation board of the WCLA had failed to serve its purpose. He also questioned eligibility of the board members and urged the court to order its reconstitution.

The judge nominated heritage experts Kamil Khan Mumtaz, Ajaz Anwar and Advocate Ans Ghazi to assist the board as representatives of the court. He directed the WCLA head to keep filing progress reports with the court after every two days and start imposing fine on violators for littering around heritage sites.

The judge also warned Mr Lashari of strict action if the officials and legal adviser of the authority failed to answer the court’s queries efficiently.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2018