LAHORE, May 14: The last hurdle in the launch of the Baab-i-Pakistan project was removed here on Wednesday when the governor decided terms regarding the shifting of the Boy Scouts Association offices from the project land to an adjacent place.

The governor is the Chief Commissioner of the scouts association which had agreed to vacate the place only after the construction of all facilities by the government at the new site. The government, on the contrary, had offered to provide only necessary buildings in the beginning and to meet the remaining requirements afterwards.

The Baab-i-Pakistan executive committee constituted by the provincial chief minister under Col Shuja Khanzada had decided last month to seek approval of the governor regarding the shifting of the scouts association offices from the project site.

Officials sources told Dawn that the governor decided that the scouts offices would be shifted to the new site after the construction of only required buildings by the Baab-i-Pakistan Project committee working under Kamran Lashari. The remaining facilities like a swimming pool would be built later.

They said the governor agreed with the project offer to spend Rs80 million on the provision of offices and related facilities, deciding the controversy amicably.

“Now the ground-breaking ceremony would be held on August 14 and the project completed in the shortest possible time,” the officials hoped.

Pakistan army and police who were also occupying the project land at Walton have already expressed their willingness to shift to an adjacent 25 acres of Nazool land which was under the occupation of army.

Of the 25 acres land, 14.6 acres would be given to the scouts association and 10 acres to police.

The project was planned by former chief minister the late Ghulam Haider Wyne 12 years ago. He wanted to build a national monument at Walton to pay homage to the people who had lost their lives during migration to Pakistan in 1947.

Walton, the site of the Baab-i-Pakistan, had housed the first and the largest refugee camp where the late Mr Wyne had taken refuge along with hundreds of others.

But the project could not be launched for over a decade because of the occupation of a major portion of its land by army, scouts, police and the education department which was running two schools there. A katchi abadi over 2.4 acres of land was another problem.

Governor Khalid Maqbool went to the site on March 21 last year and resolved the issues pertaining to the project. He ordered shifting of the schools to a corner of the site but without dislocating the katchi abadi.

According to the estimates prepared by a team of architects early this year, the project would now cost Rs316.9 million.