LAHORE, Feb 22: Provincial Information Secretary Taimur Azmat Usman submitted before the Lahore High Court on Wednesday that the Punjab Entertainment Company had not received the no-objection certificate for the cineplex to be built by it at the Doongi Ground on M.M. Alam Road from the Environment Protection Department.

Appearing in the hearing of a public-interest complaint filed against the construction of the elitist entertainment complex by Gulberg residents, the information secretary, who is also the chairman of the PEC, submitted that the construction plan of the complex also had not been submitted for the approval of the Lahore Development Authority so far.

He further submitted that the project was estimated to cost Rs1.34 billion. The company had been provided with Rs800 million as grant by the Punjab government. The court inquired about the ownership of the company, which was not clear.

Petitioner’s counsel Syed Mansoor Ali Shah submitted that the formation of the company was against the provincial rules of business and Information, Culture and Youth Affairs Department did not have the mandate to incorporate an entertainment company or establish a cinema.

The Punjab advocate-general submitted that the Doongi Ground had not been earmarked as a park in the original LDA plan of Gulberg and had been shown as an open space instead. He failed to explain as to how the ground had been transferred to the Parks and Horticulture Authority if it was not a park.

Mr Shah pointed out that two other parks in the area had also been shown as open spaces in the LDA plan of Gulberg.

PHA director-general Mr Shabbir Ahmad submitted that the authority had transferred the ground to the PEC on the directions of the Punjab government.