Daily Times

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on Monday stayed all construction activities of commercial buildings inside the Walled City, which were taking place despite an earlier stay order.

The chief justice on Monday ordered to preserve the historic imambargah located at Kashmiri Gage, Lahore. He ordered the concerned officials to explain the construction of commercial activities in the Walled City, which was the heritage of the city, despite a stay order.

The CJ expressed deplored that so far the laws related to construction in the Walled City were not promulgated, and deferred till September 26 the hearing petitions filed by Asif Ali Mirza, Abdul Razzak, residents of Walled City, and Judicial Activism Panel Chairman Muhammad Azhar Siddique against the construction of multi-storey commercial buildings inside the Walled City despite a stay order against it.

Siddique submitted that the court had already stayed the construction of 136 multi-storey buildings identified by Lahore Walled City Authority (LWCA), but so far the order was ignored.

The counsel also submitted that the WCLA was responsible to preserve the Walled City, which was a national heritage, adding that the authority had lodged formal FIRs against 136 developers over illegal constructions. He said the developers, especially the residents of the area, got permissions from the Town Municipal Administration for constructions while the Lahore Development Authority was also responsible for passing maps of the new buildings in the area.

He submitted that the respondents have excavated the adjoining property for the purpose of digging a basement, thereby damaging the property of the petitioner, besides raising illegal construction over the said property without any sanctioned site plan or without obtaining permission from the concerned authorities.

He said that a historical place of worship located in the Walled City was being damaged due to the ongoing illegal construction of a multi-story building, which was taking place on the adjacent piece of land. He submitted that the place of worship was an imambargah located at Kashmiri Gage while the illegal construction was causing cracks in the walls of the 200-year-old imambargah. He apprehended that in case the construction was not stopped, the worship place would collapse very soon.

Siddique informed the court that the Chief Minister Complaint Cell on November 1, 2013, had directed a superintendent of police to look into the matter and take necessary action against illegal constructions as per law. It was unfortunate that even the directions of the chief minister were not implemented formally, he lamented.

The counsel said that constructions and commercial activities within the old city, controlled by the WCLA and City District Government Lahore, were illegal under Article 9, 14, 18, 23, 24, 25 and 38 of the Constitution of Pakistan. He requested the court to direct the government demolish illegal buildings, besides requesting appropriate actions against the concerned persons who had authorised such commercial activities and constructions within the jurisdiction of the Walled City.