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SC Overturns LHC Verdict Halting Work on Orange Line

Islamabad (December 08, 2017): The Supreme Court conditionally allowed Punjab government to proceed with its multi-billion Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project by setting aside a verdict of Lahore High Court halting work on certain section of the OLMT project.

The court announced its verdict on identical petitions filed by the Punjab government, National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak), Punjab Mass Transit Authority, Lahore Development Authority and Civil Society Network against the Aug 19, 2016 Lahore High Court judgement suspending construction work on OLMT within 200 feet of 11 heritage sites. The order was issued on a petition filed civil society activist Kamil Khan Mumtaz.

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The larger bench overturned the LHC verdict halting construction works at 11 sites with a majority judgment as a member of the bench Justice Maqbool Baqir wrote a dissenting note.

The verdict was read out by Justice Ejazul Ahsan. Justices Ejaz Afzal Khan headed the bench with Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Maqbool Baqar, Ijaz-ul-Ahsan and Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel as its members.

The apex court ordered the Punjab government to continue the construction of the train and complete the project on its planned date.The court also directed the provincial government to form two technical committees within 30 days to oversee the technical aspects of the project.

One committee will comprise a senior archaeology professor from the Punjab University and a senior judge nominated by the chief justice in order to determine if any of the heritage buildings have suffered any damage from the construction of the project. The committee will also be given Rs130 million in funds for repair and renovation of the sites.

The other committee will assess any losses suffered by the project due to halt in construction work due to the LHC decision.

The bench had taken up identical petitions filed by the Punjab government, National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak), Punjab Mass Transit Authority, Lahore Development Authority and Civil Society Network against the Aug 19, 2016 Lahore High Court judgement suspending construction work on OLMT within 200 feet of 11 heritage sites. The order was issued on a petition filed civil society activist Kamil Khan Mumtaz.The heritage sites include Shalamar Gardens, Gulabi Bagh Gateway, Buddhu ka Awa, Chauburji, Zebunnisa’s Tomb, Lakshmi Building, General Post Office, Aiwan-i-Auqaf, Supreme Court’s Lahore registry building, St Andrews Presbyterian Church on Nabha Road and Baba Mauj Darya Bukhari’s shrine.

The scope of civil works involves construction of a metro train corridor (27.1km), including elevated U-shaped viaduct (25.4km), underground section (1.72km), 26 stations (24 elevated and two underground), depots and stabling yards.

Those opposing the mass transit project had argued before the Supreme Court that the scheme threatened the national monuments and heritage sites which were an insight into the past glory of their structural, cultural, sculptural artistic and archeological skills.They pleaded that the construction phase vibration was more of a threat than operation phase vibration since the magnitude of the vibration was greater. Besides, they added, the construction phase vibration distances were inaccurate which meant the actual vibration levels were far greater than those calculated by Nespak and verified by Typsa Asian consultants.

They said these heritage sites were of national importance governed by the Constitution and national laws, including the Antiquity Act 1975, the Punjab Special Premises (Preservation) Ordinance 1985 and the Punjab Heritage Foundation Act 2005. These are also of international significance keeping in mind the Unesco Convention on the Protection of World Cultural and Heritage 1972, through which different historical monuments and sites of Pakistan have been placed on the world heritage list and the Rome Statute of 1998.On the other hand, the Punjab government had in its petition argued that under the commercial contract, it and its agencies were under obligation to hand over civil works to the Chinese contractor within 10 months of the commencement date of the contract and that the contracts for construction of civil works of the OLMT project was time bound and, therefore, their completion within the stipulated time was essential.

In case of failure, the Chinese contractor would be entitled to recover liquidated damages at a rate of 0.02 per cent of the contract price of civil works, the petition said.“OLMT is being financed by Chinese Exim Bank and the smooth and continuing availability of these funds is dependent upon timely completion of the various stages of the project,” the petition had highlighted.

The petitioners had argued that Lahore being the second largest urban centre in the country suffered routinely from extreme congestion, long commute times, choking air pollution, deadly traffic accidents and inadequate public transport.

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