Verdict on signal-free corridor project today

LAHORE
A full bench of the Lahore High Court will decide the fate of Rs1.5 billion Signal-Free Corridor Project today (Friday), as it recorded complete arguments on Thursday.
The bench headed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah after conclusion of the arguments said the bench would announce the judgment today (Friday) at 10am. Earlier, the bench had stayed the project.
On Thursday, the bench heard arguments of petitioners, including Kamil Khan Mumtaz and Imrana Tiwana. In his arguments, architect Mumtaz said the project would add to the masses’ miseries instead of facilitating them; the project would add more mileage to the motorists and the pedestrians would not be able to cross the road, he added.
He said the number of private vehicles was increasing and the government was doing this to remove hurdles in their way. This step is encouraging the increase in the numbers of vehicles and resultantly roads are shrinking. He said permanent solution of this problem was not widening the roads but to provide public transport to the masses. He said after housing and food, the utmost need of the masses was health and transport which was getting expensive with the government policies. He said the project was totally against the benefits of the masses. He said solution to control traffic in the city was to make policies to minimise the number of vehicles instead of initiating anti-masses projects at the cost of the environment.
Imrana Tiwana said the government should provide some alternative to control traffic. She said this project was a failed model in the world. She said overhead bridges were not the solution as child carrying women and disabled could not cross these bridges.
She said if the project was completed, the motorists aspiring to go to Sherpao Bridge from Main Boulevard Gulberg, would have to take left turn from Fawara Chowk and would be able to take U-turn from Zafar Ali Khan Road drain. She said she wanted to see footpaths on all roads of Lahore.
Salman Akram Raja, counsel for the petitioners, submitted that the motorists coming from China Chowk would not be able to go straight to Lahore College for Women University. Instead they would have to take U-turn from Racecourse Park and then go straight to Qartaba Chowk and return from there to the university. He said the project would add to public miseries instead of facilitating them.
At this, Justice Mansoor remarked that the authorities were saying just leave all objections against the project as it was a simple development project and let it be completed.
The judge asked a representative of LDA about the mechanism of prioritising the projects before their execution. The representative said normally public complaints, politicians’ suggestions and government recommendations prioritise such development projects. The judge asked what made the project a priority? He said traders of Jail Road and three medical facilities on Jail Road had asked them in 2013 to control the traffic on the road.
At this, Justice Ayesha asked him if they had some mechanism to receive such recommendations from the public.