Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Members of the civil society and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have raised objections on the report of engineering company NESPAK Pvt Ltd pertaining to the impact on heritage sites after the completion of the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) in Lahore, costing Rs 45 billion.

Advocate Azhar Siddique, the counsel for civil society members and NGOs, submitted the objections in the top court, stating that a large number of unlisted sites remained unconsidered in totality by the NESPAK in the project’s design, while many had already been demolished by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA).

“The fact that such a large number of legitimate sites have not been listed by Punjab’s heritage bodies raises the issue of a protracted failure by these agencies to undertake their responsibilities,” stated the six-page document containing the objections.

The top court has been hearing the OLMT project case filed by the Punjab government against the LHC verdict, wherein the high court had set aside the no-objection certificates (NOCs) for the project in order to stop the provincial government for carrying out construction within 200-foot radius of 11 heritage sites.

The heritage sites include the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry, St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Baba Mauj Darya Bukhari Shrine, Shalimar Gardens, Gulabi Bagh Gateway, Buddhu ka Awa, Chauburji, Zebun Nisa Tomb, Lakshmi Building, General Post Office and Aiwan-e-Auqaf.

Regarding the unlisted sites, which were allegedly not considered by the engineering firm, the document stated that the government bodies, including the Department of Archaeology and the Special Premises Committee, who are mandated to protect and preserve Punjab’s cultural heritage, did not raise any objection.

“The Department of Archaeology failed to raise the issue of archaeological remains in any coherent manner with the OLMT-executing agencies and limited the scope of the NOC to chance find procedures (CFP),” it stated. “The Shalimar Master Plan states clearly that there are archaeological remains between Shalimar and three other Mughal gardens in the vicinity,” the documents stated. It further said that the same holds true for sites that were originally much larger, including Zebun Nisa Tomb, with fragments above the ground distributed over a much larger span than is indicated in the current site boundaries.

It said that the NESPAK documents – namely the NESPAK plans, NESPAK vibration analysis reports, the environmental impact assessment (IEA) prepared by NESPAK and the NESPAK presentation – contained contradictory information pertaining to the impact of the OLMT on heritage monuments. “That this itself is an indication of the lack of application and due diligence in the context of heritage protection.”

The document further objected that according to the UNESCO and ICOMOS, the 59-page heritage impact assessment (HIA) report, produced by Dr Ayesha Pamela Rogers, managing director of the Rogers Kolachi Khan and Associates, was an insufficient document and did not apply international standards for heritage protection.