Islamabad: The Supreme Court of Pakistan overturned the Lahore High Court (LHC)’s decision to halt construction of the Orange Line Metro Train Project and ordered the Punjab Government to resume construction work, according to a news source. The apex court instructed the provincial government to complete the project according to the planned date.
The judgement was announced by Justice Ijazul Ahsan eight months after the LHC bench reserved its verdict, suspending construction work within 200 feet of 11 heritage sites in Lahore. The apex court also directed the Punjab Government to set up two committees within 30 days to oversee technical aspects of the project.
One of the two committees will comprise a senior Punjab University archaeology professor and a senior judge nominated by the Chief Justice to determine if any heritage site will suffer damage from the construction work on the project. The committee will also be given funds worth PKR 130 million for repair and renovation of the heritage sites.
