By Muhammad Luqman
The work on Pakistan’s first metro train in Lahore is all set to resume after a gap of more than seven months as the Supreme Court has allowed the Punjab province government to complete the US $ 1.6 billion state of the art mass transit project on time.
The apex court accepted the appeal of the Punjab government and others against the Lahore High Court decision with conditions and ruled by a 4-1 judgment that it observed no illegalities in the multi-billion rupee project.
A five-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, had reserved its verdict in the case on April 17 this year.
Although the apex court has allowed the Punjab government to go ahead with the project at the same speed, the bench has set 31 conditions to ensure the project’s transparency, according to media reports.
The apex court has also ordered the formation of a five-member technical committee, with overarching authority, for a year.
The committee will include experts from the archaeology department as well as a former Supreme Court justice. It will present its recommendations to the chief minister.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has welcomed the Supreme Court Decision.
“Alhumdulillah… Orange Line finally gets go-ahead by the Supreme Court… Today people won over the vested interests… All efforts & energies to be employed to complete this mega public welfare project as early as possible InshaAllah! Aap sab ko Mubarak –ss,” Shahbaz Sharif tweeted.
The proceedings regarding the project had begun in the Supreme Court after the Punjab government and others had appealed the LHC verdict ordering partial halting of construction as it was damaging ancient heritage sites of the provincial capital.
The Lahore High Court in August 2016 had ordered the suspension of construction on the $1.6 billion OLMT within 200 feet of 11 historical sites in the city to save them from damage.
The historical monuments include the Shalimar Gardens, Gulabi Bagh Gateway, Chauburji, Mughal Princess Zebunnisa’s Tomb, Lakshmi Building and the General Post Office. These heritage sites are protected under the Punjab Special Premises (Preservation) Ordinance, 1985 and Antiquity Act, 1975.
Launched in May 2014 by Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in collaboration with a Chinese company, the project is set to be the country’s first metro line, but it got embroiled in a legal battle in LHC which ordered a stay on several sites as the development was trampling over heritage sites in Lahore.
A single train within the 27-kilometre rail line has the capacity to carry 1,000 people, out of which 200 can be seated while 800 can commute while standing.
The project, which was included in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor earlier in the year, is expected to run on electricity and transport up to 250,000 passengers a day. The capacity is set to be increased to 500,000 passengers by 2025. The original deadline for the project was December 25, 2017 but it may take another three to fourth months to complete the remaining 15 percent work.
