Govt asked to report on implementation of Fire Safety Commission recommendations

Court requested to take notice of lack of safety measures in high-rise buildings.

LAHORE: Lahore High Court last week sought a report from the provincial government on the implementation of recommendations submitted by a commission formed to review fire safety arrangements in the city’s high-rise buildings.

The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) director general was made a member of the commission during the hearing of a petition seeking action against construction of multi-storey commercial buildings in the Walled City in violation of a stay order.

The petitioner had submitted that recommendations of the Fire Safety Commission, formed by the court, were not being enforced by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA).

He had stated that most multi-storey buildings in the city lacked adequate fire safety arrangement and parking space. “The loss of life in the fire at a New Anarkali plaza could have been avoided had the building been provided with emergency exits and other fire safety measures,” he said.

Advocate Ahmad Rafay Alam, who was representing the Fire Safety Commission, told the court that the recommendations had already been added to the building by-laws.

The WCLA counsel stated that work at 200 commercial sites had been stopped for violations of by-laws. The court will resume hearing on March 20.

Irrigation Dept rest houses

The court directed the Irrigation Department to postpone auctioning of its rest houses in the province till there was a final decision in a petition seeking orders for the department preventing it from undertaking the sale.

The petitioner had submitted that sale of rest houses in Faisalabad, Nankana Sahib, Hafizabad and Jhang would affect the monitoring of irrigation network in these districts. He said these facilities were constructed for use of department officials during field duties to monitor irrigation works.

PTI workers’ killing

A petition seeking fresh probe in the killing of a Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf worker during a rally last year was disposed of by the court. The petitioner was told to approach the department concerned (Home Department).

Petitioner Atta Muhammad, brother of deceased Haq Nawaz, had asked the court to set aside the report of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed earlier to probe the killing and order a fresh inquiry. He had stated that the JIT report did not mention any of the main suspects nominated in the FIR including State Minister Abid Sher Ali, former provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and Faisalabad DCO Noorul Amin Mengal.

Nawaz was killed in shooting during a PTI rally in Faisalabad last year. His relatives had held the PML-N responsible for the murder.

CM’s ‘Reefer Container’

An LHC single bench has sought reply from the provincial government in a petition challenging the purchase of a special “reefer container” worth Rs3.35 million to serve food to the Chief Minister and other senior officials.

Advocate Shoaib Saleem had submitted that the purchase was in violation of Article 25 of the Constitution.

He said it was shocking that such a facility was being provided to a chief minister and government officials in a country where the majority of the population was deprived of education, healthcare and clean drinking water.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16^th, 2015.