ISLAMABAD: An expert report on re-verification of credibility of the Nespak environmental assessment reports in the Rs45 billion Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project declares the scheme in contravention of the Antiquities Act, 1975.

The execution of the project involves new constructions within two hundred feet of at least five immovable antiquities protected by the Antiquities Act, said a report prepared by Prof Robin Coning­ham, an expert in archaeology.

On Oct 14, a three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali had appointed a commission consisting of Messers TYPSA-Asian Consulting Engineers (Pvt) Ltd and Prof Robin Coningham to re-verify the credibility of two environmental assessments of the project on the heritage sites that was conducted by National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak) in July 2015 and February 2016.

The Nespak reports of July 2015 and February 2016 were relied upon by the Punjab government in the context of the Antiquities Act, 1975 and the Punjab Special Premises (Preservation) Ordina­nce, 1985.

Environmental assessment report of 2015 termed flawed

The court had ordered the appointment of the commission on a set of four separate but identical petitions moved by the Punjab government, Lahore Development Authority, the Punjab Mass Transit Authority and Nespak against the Aug 19 order of the Lahore High Court for the suspension of the construction work within 200 feet of the heritage sites. The order came on a petition of a civil society activist Kamil Khan Mumtaz.

The heritage sites include Shalamar Gardens, Gulabi Bagh Gateway, Buddhu ka Awa, Chauburji, Zebunnisa’s Tomb, Lakshmi Building, General Post Office, Aiwan-i-Auqaf, Supreme Court’s Lahore registry building, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church at Nabha Road and Baba Mauj Darya Bukhari’s Shrine.

In his report, Prof Coningham concluded that the OLMT contravened Clauses 22 and 23 of the act that prohibits construction of any development plan within a distance of 200 feet of the protected immovable antiquity as well as bars erection of poles or piers to support project’s viaduct (a long bridge like structure) near the five immovable antiquities, respectively.

It said Nespak in its environmental assessment report of July 2015 had failed to consider the effects of vibrations from the viaduct piers on two additional potentially affected buildings. These include the surviving Mughal reservoir which forms part of the Shalamar Gardens, protected by the antiquities act, and Lakshmi building, protected by the Punjab Special Premises (Preservation) Ordina­nce, 1985. This failing should be mitigated by the commissioning of a comprehensive and credible interdisciplinary heritage impact assessment, the report suggested.

Nespak’s July 2015 report also failed to present a physical and technical evaluation of the stability of the five potentially affected monuments. The same has also failed to show the results of any geotechnical data concerning the nature of the subsoil between the viaduct piers and the monuments.

This failing should be mitigated by the commissioning of a comprehensive and credible interdisciplinary heritage impact assessment, the report highlighted.

It is also a clear failing of Nespak’s July 2015 report that it does not evaluate or present the potential impact and vibrations from the eventual removal of the viaduct piers once they reached the end of the practical lifespan, the report regretted.

Meanwhile, Typsa in its report, which seems to go in favour of OLMT project concluded that Nespak reports appeared to be very serious and complete from structural point of view and relevant with respect to safety and stability of buildings both during the construction stage and under train operation.

Thus, the approach adopted by Nespak was conservative that gives vibration velocities higher than actual, it said, adding that German standards on calculating vibration effects on heritage buildings had been adopted by Nespak for comparison that was one of the most stringent available standards.

The vibration levels at underground critical sites are within the allowable limits, Typsa report says, adding that the vibration can always be controlled at the site by not allowing construction machines to work simultaneously near the heritage sites.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2016