Departmental tussle: WCLA, Punjab Archaeology at odds over control of heritage sites

It seems that the years-old tussle between Punjab Archaeology and Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) is heading to the courts once again as the incumbent caretaker government has decided to give control of some historical buildings to the authority.

The Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi led caretaker cabinet of Punjab has decided to transfer control of the ancient Shalimar Bagh, Jahangir’s Tomb, and Noor Jahan’s Tomb to the WCLA, whose mandate is to maintain and conserve the heritage sites in the walled city or Old Lahore, as it is colloquially referred to.

However, employees of Punjab Archaeology have made it clear that any such transfer of control will be without any legal backing as the caretaker government does not have the authority to hand over heritage sites owned by the federal government. “Such an effort was also made back in 2019 by an elected government, which transferred the control of Jahangir’s Tomb to WCLA. However, we took them to the Lahore High Court and got an injunction against the transfer,” informed Rana Irfan Ali, Spokesman of the Punjab Archaeology Clerks Association (APCA), the body which challenged the transfer on behalf of the provincial archaeological department.

Maqsood Ahmed Malik, an archaeologist and former director of Punjab Archeology, concurring with Ali, further said that even an elected Chief Minister is not authorised by law to provide any authority control over sites that are national or international heritage. “The sites that the caretaker cabinet is trying to transfer have been looked after by our department for years,” said Malik.

Whereas, Dr Muhammad Hameed, Head of the Department of Archaeology at Punjab University, was of the view that even though the provincial department might have looked after heritage sites for years did not mean they were well-suited enough to continue doing so. “Although the department has experts and a cutting-edge lab for studying and conserving historical sites in the province, sadly it is understaffed and underfunded,” said Dr Hameed, adding that the department had a measly four or five specialists, which was not enough. “On the other hand, the WCLA has both resources and personnel and their conservation work has garnered much attention,” he said. However, in light of the tussle between Punjab Archaeology and WCLA, Dr Hameed suggested that perhaps both departments could work together. “Punjab Archaeology could continue to have control and the WCLA can assist in conservation and revenue generation efforts.”

However, it remains to be seen whether the caretaker government’s decision to transfer the heritage sites is concrete. The Secretary for Tourism and Archaeology Punjab, Zaheer Hasan, when asked about the matter, said that he had not received any written directives or even heard of a decision being taken by the caretaker cabinet in this regard. “However, I am bound to carry out whatever decisions a cabinet takes, therefore if they decide to transfer the properties to WCLA, then I will have to oblige,” informed Hasan while talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2023.