ISLAMABAD: Punjab Minister for Schools Education Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan has said that Unesco has endorsed the provincial government’s stance on the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project near heritage buildings in Lahore.

Mr Mashhood, who is in Poland to attend the World Heritage Conference, said in a statement that the Punjab government had submitted its official stance to Unesco regarding the construction of OLMT and the same had also been provided to the members of World Heritage Conference.

“All the countries unanimously accepted the point of view of the Punjab government with regard to passing of Orange Line Train near the heritage buildings after detailed deliberations,” he claimed.

World body concerned over damage the project may cause to heritage buildings in Lahore

However, some other reports claim that the World Heritage Committee (WHC) is most likely to place the Shalimar Gardens and Lahore Fort on the Unesco’s List of World Heritage in Danger during its ongoing session in Poland owing to OLMT.

The WHC, at its session to be concluded on July 10, is expected to place four more monuments on the list of heritage in danger.

The four monuments are the historic centre of Vienna, protected areas and national parks of Brazil, islands and protected areas of the Gulf of California and the Kathmandu Valley.

The 21-member committee requested the Punjab government to submit an updated report to the WHC by Feb 1, 2018 on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the decision for examination in the 42nd WHC session to be held in 2018.

The provincial authorities were asked to stop work on the project where it approaches the Shalimar Gardens.

A resolution placed before the committee for adoption requests the government to prepare, in consultation with the WHC and the advisory bodies, a proposal for the desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the list.

A document placed before the committee observed that despite efforts made by the WHC and International Council on Monuments and Sites, the provincial authorities did not invite the monitoring team requested by the committee in its last session.

In March this year, the government informed the WHC director that the team would be invited only after the Supreme Court’s verdict on the OLMT case was released.

The government, in a report to the WHC, stated that there would be no potential negative impact on the Shalimar Gardens arising from vibrations on structures near the track.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2017