News Desk |
The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday, 19th April, Punjab Government to finish work on Orange Line Metro Train project till May 20th.
A two-member bench of the apex court comprising Justice Gulzar Ahmad and Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan took up the hearing of the case. During the proceedings, Justice Gulzar Ahmad while expressing his displeasure to the project director Fazal Haleem said that the work on the project has been delayed due to him.
Arguments in the Court
Justice Ahmed remarked that the project director was being blackmailed by construction companies which is why the work had been delayed. The apex court said that Justice retired Jamshed or Justice Abdul Sattar Asghar should be made the head of the technical committee on the project.
The Orange line is the first of the three proposed rail lines for the Lahore Metro. The line will span 27.1 km (16.8 mi) with 25.4 km (15.8 mi) elevated and 1.72 km (1.1 mi) underground.
They added that if the current head, Justice Zahid Hussain, wanted to continue in his role, the Punjab government should look into it. While adjourning the hearing of the case for two weeks, the court ordered that quality check mechanisms be ensured for the project which was in the national interest.
Justice Gulzar also remarked that billions of rupees have been spent on the project, adding that this is a project of national interest. The bench sought guarantees of Rs10 million each from the three construction companies.
It said that the guarantees will be seized if the construction work on the project was not completed till 20th of next month. The court adjourned the hearing of Orange Line Metro Train Case for two weeks.
Read more: Supreme Court makes Orange Line Train decision
Orange Line Project
The Orange line is the first of the three proposed rail lines for the Lahore Metro. The line will span 27.1 km (16.8 mi) with 25.4 km (15.8 mi) elevated and 1.72 km (1.1 mi) underground. The line will be served by 26 stations and is expected to handle 250,000 passengers daily. Though it is frequently cited as a part of the wider China Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Orange line is being financed by the Government of Punjab