Urban transport: Orange Line approach criticised

LCS president Kamal Khan Mumtaz said thousands of citizens would be affected by the ill-planned construction

LAHORE:

“We understand the need for a reliable transport system in the city. We are not against development. We love our city, our heritage and our neighbourhoods. We want government to stop construction of Orange Line Metro Train project and bring this project on public forums for debate.” These remarks were made by the representatives of the Lahore Conservation Society (LCS), the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and several architects and activists at Lahore Press Club.

LCS president Kamal Khan Mumtaz said there was no disagreement on the need for a modern transportation system in the provincial capital.



“There is disagreement on the government’s approach to the matter. The entire province can have an upgraded transport facility if the government invests in new buses plying on existing roads.”

Mumtaz said thousands of citizens would be affected by the ill-planned construction.

“The project is hurting the city’s economy, its culture and heritage. The government has not paid heed to grievances of the public,” he said.

National College of Arts Associate Professor Mariam Hussain and FC College’s Centre for Public Policies Research fellow Raheemul Haque said the Punjab government was constructing Lahore Orange Line Metro Train project based on a feasibility study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and a French consultancy, Systra.

“Pakistani people paid $9 million for this study in 2006-08. Originally, both agencies proposed an underground mass transit system. But using this feasibility, the government has constructed a green line, the Lahore Metro Bus Track and now it is working on the metro train project.”

They said the metro train service would benefit around three percent of the population of a total 11 million people of Lahore.

They said the government would pay around Rs151 subsidy per passenger for every trip.  They said recently the government had signed a loan agreement of $1.6 billion with China of which $1 billion would be returned for the procurement of the rolling stock and the rest would be spend civil and allied works of the project.

Marrium pointed out that apart from subsidy, the government had to pay Rs5.5 billion to China on account of mark-up for the first year.  They said government agencies were violating international conventions and local laws to hastily complete the project.  They said the government was pressurising citizens to vacate their properties along the route.  “Earlier, it was announced that the government would pay Rs150,000 per marla but now we are being heard that the government is offering Rs50,000 per marla for acquisition of properties.

LCS and representatives of citizens announced a peaceful protest at GPO Chowk on Friday (today).

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2016.