Conservation spiel: Plan to extend women’s bar room on LHC premises ‘abandoned’

‘It would have affected the architecture of the historic building’.

LAHORE: Lahore High Court’s administration has stopped the expansion of the women lawyers’ bar room which, some lawyers said, would alter the High Court Bar’s historic building.

LHC’s Planning and Development Deputy Secretary Ali Zaman told The Express Tribune that they had halted the project. To a question about why the plan had been abandoned, he said that was enough that they had wrapped it up by now.

Punjab Works Department XEN Khalid Shad told The Express Tribune that they had initiated work after approval from the LHC office. He said on digging the foundation, they had found two pipelines – one for water supply and another for sewerage under the ground. He said if they were to continue work on the project, the lines would have to be shifted, which was impossible. He said that he was not aware that the project had been abandoned. He said personnel of the Structures Wing of the Works Department would examine the site and would take a final decision.

LHCBA finance secretary Sayed Akhtar Hussain Sheraz told The Express Tribune that he was unaware of any move to abandon the project. He said the High Court’s administration had given the go ahead for the construction and had granted approval for tenders and bids.

He said work had started after due approval from the LHC. “The project will go as planned,” he said.

Advocate Malik Muhammad Hussain Awan said it was a wise decision not to disturb the original structure of the historic bar room. He said Chief Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik had promised a delegation of lawyers that the construction would be stopped.

Architect Imrana Tiwana also appreciated this decision and said women lawyers deserved a bigger bar room, “but that could be built off the LHC premises”.

The plan, which was abandoned, involved allocating an additional 10X20 feet area for the women’s bar room. Work on this had begun and workers had started digging a foundation for the room behind the women lawyers’ bar room.

A few years ago, the room was extended by 10 feet to build a washroom for women lawyers. The recent expansion, though, would have disturbed the architecture of the bar’s building, and affected the ventilation and access to sunlight for the Old Lounge, washrooms and canteen. The LHC had released Rs0.6 million funds for the project after approval.

The building of the Lahore High Court and adjoining building of the LHCBA are protected under the Punjab Special premises (Preservation) Ordinance 1985 and a subsequent notification issued on March 21, 1985.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 24^th, 2015.