Fort staff transferred after protests

Caretaker govt's promise of 10-kanal land for colony not fulfilled

LAHORE:

The Punjab Department of Archaeology has begun transferring the employees residing in the staff colony of the Shahi Qila following their protest against the demolition of the colony.

The previous caretaker government had promised to allocate 10 kanals of land to build new homes for the residents of the staff colony, but the promise has not been fulfilled.

According to sources, the Punjab Archaeology Directorate General recently transferred more than 50 lower employees from Lahore to other cities. The employees and their families had been residing in the staff colony of the fort for decades.

After the responsibility for maintaining the Lahore Fort was handed over to the Walled City of Lahore Authority, it decided to demolish the staff colony.

The previous caretaker government had promised to build a new colony for the residents on 10 kanals of land.

The Secretary General of the All Pakistan Clerks Association, Archaeology Department, Rana Irfan Ali, said the caretaker government had instructed the revenue department to allocate the 10 kanal of land and the planning and development department was supposed to start the construction of houses during the fiscal year 2023-24.

He said the government had announced that monthly rent of Rs30,000 would be paid for two years for the residents of the staff colony. Each resident would be paid a lump sum amount of Rs1.08 million.

Irfan Ali said the construction of the colony had not yet been started by the government.

The amount promised by the government is not enough to secure a mortgage or build a house, he said.

When the residents of the staff colony began protesting, the director general of archaeology began transferring the employees to distant cities, he alleged.

A resident of the colony requested that the demolition be halted until new homes are built.