Allowing the petitions, the Lahore High Court partially restrained the government on Friday from the construction of Orange Line Train project within a 200-foot radius of special premises and heritage sites. The bench comprising Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh and Justice Shahid Karim announced its verdict in response to some identical petitions of different affectees and civil society representatives challenging construction of Orange Line within the area of special premises protected under the law.
The heritage sites include Chauburji, Saint Andrew Church, GPO building, Supreme Court Registry Branch, Shalimar Garden, Tomb of Mehrunisa, Budhu Ka Awa, Tomb of Baba Mauj Daria, Shah Cheragh Building, Awan-e-Auqaf and Dai Anga Tomb. The court struck down no objection certificates (NOCs) and amendments NOCs issued by the director general of archeology allowing the construction of the project and held that all the NOCs were issued without lawful authority.
The court held that the powers of DG Archeology to allow any construction work within a 200-foot radius of any heritage site are not unbridled. The court directed the authorities concerned to implement the recommendations of the advisory committee on environment in its report dated May 7, 2016, in letter and spirit. The court rejected the pleas against the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for and observed that the petitioners did not avail of first remedy of environment tribunal.
"Such permission cannot be granted as ministerial job in routine at the whim and wish of director general but such permission is only in exceptional circumstances subject to necessary inspections, expert opinions and unequivocal conclusion by the authority," the court added. The court said in case the development plan, scheme or new construction is likely to damage protected antiquity in any way, the permission cannot be granted.
The court also directed the director general archeology to engage independent consultants consisting of a panel of experts of international status preferably in consultation with Unesco to carry out afresh a study regarding protected immovable antiquities and special premises.
The court directed the government to frame rules under Section 37 of the Land Acquisition Act 1975 and Section 16 of the Ordinance 1985 to structure the discretion of competent authorities for future permission. The court also directed the competent authority to consider afresh the request for permission under Section 22 of the Act 1975 and Section 11 of the Ordinance 1985 in the light of the study by independent experts of international repute.
In this case, the court was also assisted by senior lawyers as amici curiae including Supreme Court Bar Association President Syed Ali Zafar and Advocate Waqas Mir. Ali Zafar was of the opinion that the development must always be sustainable and whenever the government undertook an urban planning project it must ensure that the project did not harm any protected site.
He said if any development work was contrary to the law and fundamental rights, the courts had an obligation to stop such project on the principle that a vibrant existing urban fabric was connected to the right of life. He asked the government to appoint a panel of international experts to determine the damage and effects of the project on the monuments of Lahore and then make a final decision based on the report of such experts. Advocate General Punjab Shakilul Rehman Khan represented the provincial government and Attorney General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf appeared for the federal government.
The petitioners through their counsel Azhar Sadiqque said that the Rs 365 billion project was not approved by the Punjab Assembly.
The counsel said the project had put heritage of the Lahore city on stake, adding that many provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 were against the fundamental rights protected in the constitution. He further submitted that the government signed a contract with a Chinese bank in January 2016 for this project but the work was initiated in September last year without proper approval and NOCs.
He alleged that the government obliged the project with the funds allocated for other important and inevitable projects including clean drinking water projects, enhancement of graveyard projects, education and healthcare projects. The counsel alleged that the government was wasting the public money on this project.
Reuters adds: The Lahore High Court judgement upholds an earlier decision in January. However, the court declared that environmental approvals that the petitioners had said should be cancelled were valid, thereby allowing construction more than 200 feet from protected monuments to proceed. The project manager of the Lahore Metro was not available to comment on the impact the ruling would have on construction. Public transport is in desperately short supply in Pakistan and the government hopes the metro will ease travel in one of the country''s fastest-growing cities.
The route of the line has puzzled many experts, however, who say far less damaging alternative routes were not considered, the United Nations said in January. Construction began last year and has led to forced evictions and threatened protected sites and minority places of worship, the United Nations said. Campaigners contend that the awarding of the project lacked transparency and was not done in consultation with residents. They have filed a second petition challenging the process.
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