Handing over of tombs to WLCA challenged in LHC

Petitioner seeks direction to restrain authority from intervening in archaeology department’s matters

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court issued notices to the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WLCA) by September 26 in a petition seeking direction to restrain the authority from intervening in the archaeology department’s matters to take administrative control of Jahangir and Noor Jahan’s tombs.

As the proceedings commenced by LHC’s Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza, the petitioner’s counsel Chaudhary Irfan Sadiq Tarar requested the court that  WLCA falls under “The Walled City of Lahore Act, 2012” and the jurisdiction of the department as per sub-section 2 of Section 1 extends to the entire walled city of Lahore.

Advocate Tarar informed the court that on July 23,2019 the WLCA director-general wrote to the principal secretary of the Punjab chief minister and requested to transfer the administrative control of Jahangir and Noor Jahan’s tombs to WLCA, quoting the reference of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s meeting in which he had expressed his willingness that “the administrative control of Jahangir’s tomb and Noor Jahan’s tomb should be transferred from the archaeology department to WLCA for conservation work.”

The counsel implored that on July 26, 2019, another respondent secretary local government and the community development sent the summary to the chief minister for the approval. There is a possibility that the chief minister may approve the transfer of administrative control of the historic monuments from the Youth Affairs, Sports, Archaeology and Tourism (YASAT) to WLCA.

The secretary law observed that Section 24 of the act stipulates that the heritage conservation board, designate any area of special architectural or historic interest or appearance which it is desirable to preserve, enhance or develop as a buildings, lands urban open spaces or public passages, falling within the territorial limits of a zone of special value designated under sub-section (1) shall be subject to such regulations as may be framed by the authority.

He implored that the respondent WLCA and his staff members are continuously creating hurdles in the working of the petitioner’s department of archaeology and also trying to illegally take over administrative control of the tombs.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2019.