Demand for parking plaza: Lawyers threaten to block OLMT work

Lawyers say a new multi-storey parking plaza was approved for construction on LHC land

LAHORE: Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) has warned city developers that if a new parking plaza was not built near the Lahore High Court (LHC), lawyers would block the ongoing construction of the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, LHCBA General Secretary Amir Saeed Rawn said after hectic efforts of many years, lawyers got the approval of a new multi-storey parking plaza on LHC land.

“Earlier,” he said, “the government had the excuse that there was no suitable space available for construction of the parking plaza near the court premises. Now city developers are claiming that they do not have funds for the construction of parking plaza.”

After lengthy documentation and hectic procedures, Rawn said, the LHCBA had got approvals from the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and from the court as the proposed piece of land was the LHC’s property. “Now, lawyers are struggling to get this project completed since May 2017 as parking is one of the biggest problems of lawyers and litigants who visit courts for their cases.”

He said the government was spending around Rs165 billion on the construction of the metro train project, but it does not have Rs30-40 million for the construction of a parking plaza for lawyers.

He underscored it was the right time for construction of a parking plaza as huge construction activity was already underway and roads have been blocked for traffic.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16^th, 2018.