SC questions construction of new Sindh Assembly on heritage site

KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned construction of the new building of Sindh Assembly adjacent to the historic Constituent Assembly building observing that no construction could be allowed at the heritage site.

Hearing the petition about the construction of an auditorium and allotment of office to National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) at Hindu Gymkhana which is also a heritage site, the three-member bench Supreme Court headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed inquired from the provincial law officer as to how the construction of Sindh Assembly building was allowed adjacent to historic Constituent Assembly.

The court observed that Sindh government has turned the Constituent Assembly redundant by raising another building adjacent to it, which must be demolished. The Additional advocate general Sindh submitted that the new assembly building was constructed to accommodate the large increase in the number of seats of provincial assembly and the previous assembly lacked the capacity to accommodate the legislators. The court inquired from the provincial law officer if such an exercise was also undertaken in Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies as the number of provincial legislators had also increased their.

The court also took exception to construction of concrete walls outside the Sindh Assembly and observed that there is no precedent in the world that an assembly building is surrounded by the concrete walls rather it is open to public who can observe the proceedings of the assembly. The SC bench observed that it has also came to the court's notice that several MPAs visited abroad to purchase tiles for the new assembly building increasing the cost of the construction from its actual cost manifold.

The Supreme Court bench also took exception over non-compliance of the court directives for shifting NAPA from the Hindu Gymkhana and the absence of the secretary culture and inquired provincial law officer as why NAPA has not been shifted yet. The court observed that the secretary culture and the department of heritage was directed to take a decision about shifting of NAPA but the orders of the court were not complied despite lapse of almost one year. The SC bench observed that a heritage site could not be handed over to any institution in this manner. The court also directed the secretary culture to submit a reply about the issue on the next date of hearing.

The National Academy of Performing Arts had submitted before the court that the Hindu Gymkhana was given to it on a 30 years’ lease. It said it had not changed the character of the main building, but constructed an auditorium on the vacant land without altering the heritage site.

The Hindu Welfare Organization had also challenged the handing over the heritage site to NAPA and requested the court to return it to the Hindu community who owned the heritage site since before Independence.

The heritage site was leased to NAPA for 30 years in September 2005. The controversy arose when the cultural department objected over the construction of theater and auditorium, funded by UAE, adjacent to the Hindu Gymkhana building. The cultural department’s had also asked NAPA to vacate the Hindu Gymkhana accusing it of breaching the lease agreement and violating the provisions of Sindh Cultural and Heritage Act 1994.