No red flag for Orange Line please

LAHORE:

The open letter addressed to the Chief Minister Punjab by the Civil Society about the Orange Line Train in Lahore and published by one of the leading national dailies has been read with a good deal of interest in the government circles. The consequent consternation has led me, in my capacity as Lahore Commissioner, to respond to it. This is not a riposte but a well-meaning effort at developing a better understanding the issue and removing the ambivalence that exists in several quarters.

We, in the Punjab government and the Lahore administration, are proponents of socially- and culturally- sensitive development. As practitioners, we encounter issues that require balancing acts of diverse nature. Among these, the most challenging ones are those that require striking a balance between infrastructure development imperatives and socio-environmental (and cultural) considerations. Occasionally, the former outweigh the latter because of constraints as a developing country. Whenever I have shared this feeling or qualm with my friends in bureaucracies of other countries, they tell me that the impetus for developmental always comes with a cost that may lead practitioners to think that they have compromised (for want of a more neutral word) on more nobler and desirable concerns. This should, however, never imply that our approach towards development is bereft of social, cultural and environmental sensitivities.

It is just that the developmental deficit is huge and the ‘catch up’ is always an uphill struggle, and one which does not allow a lot of time. I recall having mentioned this to the Chief Minister two years ago and he shared my concerns on this account. The Chief Minister’s passion for horticulture and floriculture has contributed to matchless green spaces and gorgeously laden parks. He supervised all these endeavours day in and day out for more than a decade now time. We are in the process of giving a major impetus to horticulture development in Lahore, with splendid elements of Chinese vertical horticulture and other innovative floriculture being implemented methodically. Of late, the effort aimed at bringing art to public spaces, under the rubric of Beautification of Lahore Framework, has been championed by him. I ear believe it has the makings of something truly resplendent and culturally refreshing. A few of the leading lights of our civil society were instrumental in taking this agenda forward meaningfully. The Bird House, recently inaugurated at the Istanbul Chowk, is a testament to this collaboration. At least six more ‘art in public spaces’ projects are on the anvil. These would depict our rich culture and history. Another initiative which would be a robust testament to our unequivocal deference and unwavering commitment to Lahore’s history and heritage is the establishment of the Greater Iqbal Park. This, we believe, would be the jewel in Lahore’s crown.

Let me assure the readers that we are committed to making Lahore a truly world class city; one wherein you would find a superb mélange of the traditional and the modern. None of our efforts would be devoid of our singular commitment to this particular ideal. The Orange Line would be the common man’s ride; with cautious estimations indicating a daily ridership of a stupendous 245,000 commuters. It navigates and traverses through places and localities where people languishing in the poorest income quintiles live. Its pro-poor orientation coupled with the indisputable correlation between subsidised urban transport and poverty reduction make for a compelling case. Let me assert in clear terms that the Orange Line will not damage at all any historical building and none of the interventions going into its construction and engineering will impact adversely our historical and heritage sites. The much quoted impact of vibrations impacting existing old buildings is also baseless since the vibration level is as low as one-tenth of the permissible threshold. And as for the Shalamar Gardens, our team of legal experts is in the process of finalising the most plausible and legally sound reply to the UNESCO’s letter with respect to the World Heritage Convention. The Government, instead, has found avenues to restore heritage sites like the presently run-down Chauburji, Mouj Darya Darbar, St Andrews Church, Buddu’s Tomb, Dai Anga’s Tomb, Gulabi Bagh and Zaib ul Nisa’s Tomb in the most delectable and traditionally enriched style as well as building aesthetically pleasing train stations en route. Uplifting of Shalamar Gardens and the Lahore Fort is already afoot. The debate on keeping the entire route underground has also been explained at all forums. Apart from the exponential increase in cost, there is the compelling argument based on the fact that the alignment as well as the decision to stay on ground was determined by comprehensive and elaborate analyses. These decisions are based on robust consultancy reports and have not been taken whimsically as alleged. As for the concern about the elevated structure impeding the view of historical and heritage sites, let me inform you that, to the contrary, this elevated structure provides several vantage points offering spectacular sightings of these monuments on board. The concern raised about uprooting and depriving livelihoods of a huge member of people is also unfounded since the compensation on offer is better than the market rate calculations.

We have also reached out purposefully to the segments of civil society, the main critics of our approach and at some level the project itself. Holding detailed consultative sessions with them on December 5 and December 10, was instrumental in highlighting our viewpoint. Elaborate presentations, candid discussions and simulations substantially clarified a lot of misunderstandings and a few misgivings. These heritage sites have been victims of unbridled urbanization which went unnoticed by the entire civil society (while the government of the time dithered, if not exactly looked the other way) and the consequent urban clutter so very close to the Shalamar Gardens is more than an eye-sore. Yet, there is every possibility of handling it in a much better manner this time around. We are firm believers in urbanization with a human and cultural face and I hope this response would assuage the concerns in a major way and we would garner support for the timely and result-oriented execution of one of the most significant China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. Any stumbling block in the way of Orange Line now would send wrong signals to Beijing since the project details have been, one, firmed up there and, two, are sanctified by bilateral, sovereign framework agreement. What also needs to be borne in mind is that CPEC has all the turn-around potential that could take our developmental trajectory in the most desirable direction. It is an opportunity that we simply cannot miss and hindrances in its way do not augur well for our future. The clarion call for its most appropriate execution is all too audible and simply cannot be ignored.

The Writer is Commissioner Lahore Division and can be reached at [e-mail]

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2015.